Two die at Moldovan border as Russia-Ukraine drone war rages

ByAlicia Curry and Jaroslav Lukiv. 9 September 2026, 11: 59 BST.

Key points

• Two individuals died when Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated.
• The crossing, regarding 500km south of Kyiv, was shut after the attack killed two residents and injured three others, Odesa regional head Oleh Kiper noted.
• The strikes come a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump by phone regarding efforts to end the war.
• Russia's defence ministry remarked its forces had shot down 596 Ukrainian drones overnight.
• The Trump administration has been pressing for direct discussions between Russia and Ukraine, with Kyiv saying they could take place this month.

For context, the Starokozache crossing was shut after the overnight attack. Images from the scene show a number of burnt-out cars against the backdrop of the debris.

In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a woman was killed and 14 individuals, including two children, were injured after a Russian drone hit a nine-storey residential house, office-holders say.

In Russia, four individuals, including a child, were killed in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in a Ukrainian drone attack, office-holders there say, and a drone hit an industrial facility in the Arctic city of Novy Urengoy, almost 3, 000km (1, 864 miles) from Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine lately stepped up long-range strikes, despite renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Zelensky renewed calls for international backing after the attack at the Starokozache road crossing, saying "the aggression must be stopped here and now before it spreads any further".

Meanwhile, the crossing, regarding 500km south of Kyiv, was shut after the attack killed two residents and injured three others, Odesa regional head Oleh Kiper noted.

Notably, a Moldovan driver was additionally injured, according to the country's foreign ministry.

Moldova has increasingly discovered itself caught up in the conflict, with Prime Minister Vasile Tofan confirming that 17 drones struck Moldovan territory in August alone – more than during the whole of last year.

"Those who ignore or downplay these threats – and refuse to name the aggressor – are denying reality, " he wrote on social media. "Russia began this war. Russia alone bears responsibility." Russia introduced a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Novorossiysk – in the south of the country – was hit hardest in what governor Veniamin Kondratiev described as a "massive overnight enemy drone attack".

As well as the four deaths, 29 individuals were injured, and damage was noted to residential buildings, a church and a preschool.

In Novy Urengoy, a drone attack on an "industrial facility" was repelled, regional governor Dmitry Artyukhov remarked.

He continued that the falling drone wreckage had triggered a fire but no-one had been injured.

Meanwhile, the strikes come a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump by phone regarding efforts to end the war.

Notably, the Trump administration has been pressing for direct discussions between Russia and Ukraine, with Kyiv saying they could take place this month. The Kremlin, nevertheless, has stated it is too early to discuss a date or venue.

In practice, the call followed Saturday's discussions between US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff and Putin in Moscow, before the pair travelled to Kyiv for meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.

For now, two die at Moldovan border as Russia remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.