Kyiv air raid alerts at record high as Russia launches round-the-clock strikes

Kyiv is suffering more daily air raid alerts than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, according to BBC Verify analysis of government figures.

Most air attacks used to come at night but Russia's new tactic of striking Ukraine's capital during the day is causing huge disruption to schools and businesses.

The round the clock attacks have forced people to head for shelter as many as 13 times a day, with air raid alerts lasting from a few minutes to nearly four and a half hours.

Residents in Kyiv are struggling to adapt to this new reality, adding to existing stress and anxiety. The alerts force pupils to leave their classrooms and workers their offices and leave commuters struggling to get home as overland trains stop.

This has forced the government to plan a new, two-tier warning system that allows people to carry on working, travelling and studying depending on the scale of the threat.

There was a brief pause in attacks on Kyiv over the weekend while US envoys were in town for talks about trying to end the war.

But analysis of figures from the state-owned app Kyiv digital shows that since the round-the-clock Russian attacks began at the end of August, air raid sirens have sounded across Kyiv's skies on average 10 times a day.

In the seven days from Thursday 27 August, Kyiv endured 76 air raid alerts. The largest comparable number in 2022 was the week beginning 27 February when there were around 66 alerts.