Build & Destroy

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian forces attacked Ukrainian regions throughout the night and into the morning. In Kharkiv, a strike partially destroyed the second and fourth floors of a high-rise apartment building. Kyiv also sustained damage from drone attacks, with residential areas hit. The strikes are the latest in Russia's ongoing aerial campaign against Ukrainian cities.

Millions of Sudanese are returning to Khartoum as fighting eases, only to find the capital barely habitable. Reporters describe widespread power cuts, destroyed buildings and rubble across entire neighborhoods, with basic services and water largely absent. The returnees, many displaced for months by the war between the army and paramilitary forces, face rebuilding their lives amid limited aid and unsafe conditions.

Gaza's civil defense agency says it has recovered the remains of 28 Palestinians from a house destroyed in an Israeli strike in 2023. Recovery teams continue working through rubble across the territory, where thousands of bodies are believed to remain under destroyed buildings, and the announcement is drawing renewed attention to the war's continuing human toll.

Russian drones struck Kyiv overnight, injuring four people, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service. In the Podilskyi district, a non-residential building was damaged and caught fire, with part of its roof destroyed. A second impact reportedly shattered windows near a nearby residential building. Emergency crews responded to the scene during the night attack on the capital.

Kyiv Post reports that Ukraine's reconstruction is generating large volumes of asbestos-contaminated rubble from destroyed buildings, and evidence suggests the country lacks suitable facilities to dispose of the hazardous waste safely. The issue adds an environmental and public health dimension to rebuilding efforts, as exposure to asbestos fibres is linked to serious long-term illnesses including cancer.

Russian media report a large-scale overnight drone attack across multiple regions on September 30, 2026. Air defence forces claim 646 Ukrainian drones were shot down, including over Ulyanovsk region. In Kaluga, apartment buildings were damaged in a drone attack, with people reported injured. Alerts were also issued in Krasnodar region, and a drone was destroyed approaching Penza.

An Israeli air attack struck an apartment in Gaza City, killing at least five people, according to Al Jazeera reporting. The strike adds to the mounting civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict, with residents and rescue teams responding to the destroyed residential building.

Commentators are pushing back against imagery that reduces Gaza to destroyed buildings, arguing the city was home to families, schools, hospitals, and dreams now buried under rubble. Writers stress that behind every ruined building stands someone who lost a home, urging the world to see Gaza's residents as people with histories rather than symbols of devastation.

Images and reports continue to circulate showing residential buildings in Gaza destroyed during the war between Israel and Hamas. The destruction of housing across the territory remains one of the most visible consequences of the conflict, with large parts of Gaza reduced to rubble and displaced residents facing a severe humanitarian situation as reconstruction remains distant.

Three powerful explosions were reported in Krasnozavodsk, near Sergiev Posad in the Moscow region. According to Russian outlet Mash, the blasts shook nearby homes, partially destroyed a building and sparked a fire, with a reported 44 people affected. Details on the cause and casualties remain limited as reports continue to come in.

A large fire has engulfed the historic Miller Mansion near St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, destroying one of the area's notable heritage buildings. Reports describe flames spreading through the mansion, with emergency crews responding at the scene. People are sharing images and discussing the loss of the landmark building and the fate of nearby structures.

A fire has destroyed the historic Miller Mansion in St. Petersburg, a landmark building known for its architectural and local heritage. News of the blaze spread quickly, with many residents expressing shock and sadness over the loss of a piece of the city's history. Details about the cause of the fire, injuries, or plans for the site have not yet been confirmed.

A headline carried by Foreign Policy asserts that current events amount to 'development in reverse' — a reversal of decades of economic and social progress. The phrase frames present-day destruction or regression as undoing hard-won gains rather than building on them. The statement is drawing attention amid ongoing debates about conflict and its cost to development, particularly in the Middle East.

The bodies of 105 Palestinians have been buried in Gaza City after their remains were recovered from beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings. The burials highlight the ongoing recovery efforts in the territory, where crews continue to find victims of the war months after strikes destroyed residential areas. Families gathered to identify and bury relatives as the humanitarian toll of the conflict continues to mount.

Dobropillia, a city in Ukraine's Donetsk region, has suffered heavy damage from Russian attacks, with residential buildings destroyed and residents left living among the ruins. Reports describe the city as another urban centre effectively held hostage by the war, joining a list of eastern Ukrainian communities devastated by ongoing shelling and strikes.

A mass funeral has been held in Gaza City after 105 bodies were recovered from rubble in the area, according to Africanews. The burials come as recovery teams continue to find remains beneath destroyed buildings across the Gaza Strip. The report was shared widely on social media with tags referencing Gaza and Palestine.

Google Earth has refreshed its satellite imagery of Gaza for the first time since 2024, revealing that around 80% of the territory's buildings have been destroyed and much of the population reduced to survival conditions. Commentary describes the situation as an annihilation carried out in full view of the world, with the images renewing debate over the scale of devastation.

A mass funeral has been held in Gaza City after the bodies of 105 people were recovered from beneath rubble in the devastated territory. Recovery teams continue to pull victims from destroyed buildings, and families gathered to bury their dead in a shared ceremony as the humanitarian toll of the conflict deepens.

Mass funerals have been held in Gaza City for the bodies of more than 100 Palestinians recovered from beneath rubble, as rescue and recovery teams continue to unearth victims from destroyed buildings. Families gathered to bury the dead, underscoring the mounting human toll of the war and the difficulty of recovering remains in heavily damaged districts.

A mass funeral ceremony was held in Gaza City for dozens of Palestinians killed in the early months of the Israeli military campaign, whose remains were recovered from beneath the rubble of destroyed homes. Al-Jazeera journalist Ibrahim Khalili reported from the ceremony. The burials underline the continuing recovery of bodies from collapsed buildings as rescue teams work through the ruins.

Russian forces struck a business centre in Odesa, injuring one person, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service. The attack damaged the roof and facade of two buildings, blew out windows, partially destroyed fifth-floor walls and sparked a fire. It comes amid continued Russian strikes on the port city and other Ukrainian urban areas.

A Russian attack on Odesa Oblast on 29 September hit a building of the Loving Hearts (Liubliachi Sertsia) animal shelter, killing 10 cats and 3 dogs. The strike destroyed part of the shelter's facilities, and footage of the damage has been shared widely, drawing condemnation and renewed attention to the impact of attacks on civilian sites in southern Ukraine.