In the week ending October 1, 2026, Russia escalated attacks on civilian life in Kyiv, hitting supermarkets, data centres and playgrounds. A source says Putin ordered the escalation earlier that month, naming data centres, internet providers and supermarkets as immediate targets. Reporting since puts the start of round-the-clock attacks in late August, with strikes now landing in the city centre during the day, and more than 100 civilians were killed in Ukraine in the first week of October, among the highest tolls since the war's first month. The Ukraine Evidence Hub counts 17,605 civilians killed in Ukraine since 2022, before the recent escalation.