⚡️ 'It was humiliating' — ex-US Army Secretary says Washington lags behind Ukraine in war innovations. "When you would see what Ukraine's budget was and how small it was relative to ours and how, despite that, they had better weapons of war, it was a wake-up call," former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told Rolling Stone. kyivindependent.com/ex-us-ar…

Today, Russia reportedly used a jet-powered drone carrying a specialised warhead designed to destroy power pylons and steel bridge structures. Warnings point to possible attacks on critical power transmission lines. During air raids, we also lose phone signal, internet access becomes unreliable, and GPS navigation stops working. This is what daily life here looks like. But the worst part is that people are being killed, and we don’t know how cold the coming winter will be. Hospitals also suspend appointments during air raid alerts, preventing me from receiving the medical procedures I need. These delays take up so much time and make an already difficult situation even more stressful.

The Guardian calls Kyiv a frontline city. For those of us living here, that headline describes our daily lives: attacks day and night, work and sleep interrupted, and winter preparations that now include backup power and somewhere to go if staying becomes too difficult. theguardian.com/world/2026/s…

Friends, we’re OK. We visited my father’s house to sort out paperwork and a few other things, and also stayed at our own house outside Kyiv. A strike on a cell tower disrupted our connection. Another strike hit a house nearby in our garden community, killing two people. We’re back in Kyiv now. It’s frightening both here and outside the city. We’re considering evacuation within Ukraine, though not in the immediate future. The dogs are well, and my treatment is showing positive results. Thank you all for your support.

Kyiv

Love is Kyiv 🇺🇦 2026

The lives of two envoys were worth protecting. The lives of hundreds of thousands were not.

When you live next door to a terrorist state. #Russiaisaterroriststate

6 a.m. in Kyiv. This is not a storm cloud. This is smoke after the explosions in Podil. The view from my window. #Russiaisaterroriststate #StoptheWar

We can hear explosions nearby. Black smoke is drifting in our direction. • Holosiivskyi district: a fire broke out on the grounds of an educational institution; according to preliminary reports, people are trapped inside a residential building. • Podilskyi district: garages and cars caught fire. • Solomianskyi district: a five-storey and a three-storey residential building were damaged, and a warehouse caught fire. Kyiv has now been under a red-level air raid alert for almost 10 hours. The dogs usually sleep through the attacks and don’t react at all. Tonight, they’ve been barking every time something explodes nearby.

Well, we got two nights of sleep. Apparently, that was enough. Explosions are rocking Kyiv again. 🚨 ~4 Zircon hypersonic missiles heading toward Kyiv and the surrounding areas. 🚨 ~10 ballistic missiles heading toward Kyiv and the surrounding areas.

Witkoff says he brought “new ideas” from Moscow to Kyiv and insists “both sides” must compromise. But only one side invaded, occupied and murdered its way across the other. Sounds like he wants to force Ukraine to just accept Putin’s demands

Someone wished us three days of sleep. Three days. While the negotiations last. It was kind. And somehow that makes it even harder. Because maybe Kyiv will sleep. But Ukraine will not. Somewhere the sirens are already sounding. Somewhere a drone is crossing the sky. Somewhere a missile has already hit. And every morning we count what disappeared overnight. A home someone worked twenty years to build. A business someone started from nothing. A school filled with other people’s childhoods. A hospital. A street. A life. Things that took years. Sometimes generations. Gone in seconds. This is what Russia is doing to Ukraine. Not only killing people. Erasing what people built. What they saved for. What they repaired. What they planted. What they loved. What they thought would still be there tomorrow. And somewhere, people are negotiating. So someone writes to us: Stay strong. Stay safe. Take care. Maybe you’ll finally get three days to sleep. What kind of world makes that sound like a beautiful wish?

Odesa is now being attacked with cheap new Banderol cruise missiles, like this one. Glide bombs are also being used on the city centre. Despite fake peace talks, Russia is not slowing down. It is expanding its war.

Today, September 5, a Russian drone struck the village of Lisne near Kyiv. Two people were killed. Private homes caught fire. This happened just 1.5 km from our summer house. Just 1.5 kilometres. #Russiaisaterroriststate

Some messages don’t need diplomacy. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney on what he would tell Putin: “Get out of Ukraine. Give back all of Ukraine to Ukraine.” Clear. Direct. Long overdue. 🇨🇦🇺🇦

Kyiv is getting terrorised every hour and the world is already used to it like it’s the new normal. When Nazis bombed London for 57 days we didn’t call it London’s new normal we called it the Blitz. This should be no different.

You open the door and smell smoke. Kyiv has been under heavy attacks for days. Air-raid alerts seem endless. People are stocking up on food. And the same questions keep running through your head: do I prepare to leave, or prepare to spend the winter here? You try not to panic. Shops are open. Public services are still working. Life continues. But your brain never really switches off. Every decision is about keeping your options open. This is what living with constant uncertainty feels like.