Ukraine's air force said it shot down 53 of 56 Russian drones it detected overnight on September 15-16, adding that the "main direction" of that bombardment was the capital after military authorities there reported a "massive" Russian attack, the eighth on Kyiv so far this month.
Kyiv's regional military administration head, Ruslan Kravchenko, said one woman was hospitalized after being injured by fragments of a downed drone.
City military administration chief Serhiy Popko said Kyiv had been under attack for more than three hours overnight as air defenses shot down "almost two dozen enemy UAVs...around the capital."
RFE/RL cannot independently corroborate claims of battlefield developments by either side in areas of the heaviest fighting.
Russia has bombarded Ukraine with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rockets, and various kinds of missiles for much of the 36-month-old full-scale invasion.
Many of the most recent attacks have targeted power and other infrastructure, but bombs have frequently also struck hospitals, schools, and residential buildings, despite Moscow's assertion that it is not targeting civilians.
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on September 15 that Russia is seeking "to achieve a decisive victory in Ukraine by 2026 before likely medium- to long-term economic and force generation constraints begin to significantly degrade Russia's ability to sustain its war effort in Ukraine."
It also said that, amid "growing challenges" in production and procurement of military equipment and munitions, "the Kremlin will likely become increasingly reliant on foreign partners to meet its materiel needs."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recent urged the United States and other allies to "promptly implement" agreements on weapons and other supplies to help fight the invasion, underscoring Western debates on the extent and current restrictions on military aid to Kyiv.
Zelenskiy told CNN that he expects to present Joe Biden with a four-point plan to win the war when he meets with the U.S. president later this month.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on September 10 expressed hope for a second major peace summit to build on a similar gathering in Switzerland three months ago aimed at ending the war.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's allies are seemingly growing more receptive to loosening restrictions on the use of long-range weapons to allow Kyiv to hit targets deep inside Russia.
NATO, of which Ukraine is not a member, is also facing growing calls to do more to fend off Russian missiles and drone strikes, some of which have violated NATO members' airspace.
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