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Russia's Kyiv terror campaign

News · Heat 1.2 / 10 · 4 shows · 19m airtime

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.

How 4 podcasts covered it

  1. The Intelligence from The Economist, 2026-10-01 (1:36 to 9:54)
    Reports a source on Putin's civilian escalation order
    Reports from Kyiv on a new Russian strategy of terror against civilians, describing a three-part campaign of kinetic strikes, sabotage and disinformation and a source's account of Putin's order to escalate attacks on civilian life.
    New angle: A source says Putin ordered the civilian escalation earlier this month, naming data centres, internet providers and supermarkets as immediate targets.
  2. Global News Podcast, 2026-10-09 (20:29 to 25:02)
    Reports the human side from Kyiv and the countryside
    Goes to the countryside and Kyiv's railway station to report the human side of the escalation: a woman wintering in a village chosen for having no factories, warehouses or rail stations, and a mother taking her children to Egypt after round-the-clock attacks began in late August.
    New angle: Kyiv started being attacked around the clock in late August, with strikes now hitting the centre during the day.
  3. The Daily, 2026-10-19 (3:38 to 5:41)
    Puts figures on the October civilian toll
    Méheut puts figures on the escalation the card already tracks: more than 100 civilians killed in Ukraine in the first week of October, a casualty level among the highest since the war's first month, and describes the geography flipping - Ukraine holding the front while cities behind it grow more dangerous.
    New angle: More than 100 civilians were killed in Ukraine in the first week of October, among the highest tolls since the war's first month.
  4. The Daily, 2026-10-19 (9:42 to 11:13)
    Describes daily life under the alerts in Kyiv
    A correspondent's first-hand account of daily life in Kyiv: alerts running 10 to 15 hours, nights in subway stations, jet drones heard overhead, smoke and bodies in courtyards after strikes. It illustrates the campaign already on the record rather than adding a development.
  5. The Bulwark Daily, 2026-10-20 (10:45 to 13:27)
    Adds the 17,605 civilian death count
    Brings in the Ukraine Evidence Hub's running count of 17,605 civilians killed since 2022, which excludes the recent uptick, and pairs it with Trump's comment that Russia has been 'fine' on Ukraine. McFaul frames the strikes as a terrorist campaign the US is now backing.
    New angle: The Ukraine Evidence Hub counts 17,605 civilians killed in Ukraine since 2022, before the recent escalation.
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