Russia launches 80 drones overnight as September aerial blitz shows no sign of easing

Russian forces launched 80 Shahed and Gerbera attack drones against Ukraine on the night of 15–16 September, Ukraine’s Air Force reported on Wednesday morning. Air defence units destroyed or jammed 63 of them, with strikes recorded at seven locations and debris found at two more. The attack is still ongoing, the Air Force said, as several drones remain in Ukrainian airspace.

The overnight raid came just hours after Russia had sent 200 drones on the night of 14–15 September, of which 187 were downed. That earlier wave hit targets at seven locations, according to the Air Force. The back-to-back attacks are part of a sustained aerial campaign that has seen Russia launch more than 450 drones in a single day on 13 September, shattering previous records.

Since the beginning of September, Russian forces have struck at least 23 locations across Ukraine with missiles and drones, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. Industrial facilities have been hit repeatedly: the Cersanit Invest ceramics factory in Zhytomyr Oblast was destroyed on 13 September, and a warehouse and a house caught fire in Dnipro after a strike on 9 September. In Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, the mayor warned that more strikes on the country’s west are likely. On 11 September, a Russian airstrike on Sloviansk killed a man and seriously wounded a woman. In Yasnohirka, Donetsk Oblast, a medical worker died after Russian forces set an ambulance on fire.

The campaign has also targeted energy infrastructure. On 8 September, Russian attacks hit power facilities in five oblasts. The previous day, infrastructure in Kyiv Oblast was struck, and on 9 September a food processing plant in the region was set ablaze. The United Nations has expressed deep concern over the destruction of three WHO warehouses in Ukraine over the past three months, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law.

“The risk of a humanitarian catastrophe this winter is very real,” a UN spokesperson said on 13 September, warning that the systematic destruction of Ukraine’s energy grid could leave millions without heating or electricity. The Kremlin, meanwhile, has ruled out any meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G20 summit in Miami, calling it “impossible.”

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces reported repelling 235 Russian attacks on 11 September alone. The same day, Russia deployed over 10,000 kamikaze drones – a figure that underscores the scale of Moscow’s industrial drone production. In a rare move, Ukraine’s Air Force appointed a combat colonel to take charge of Close Air Defence, signalling an effort to improve protection of frontline troops and critical assets.

The nightly barrages continue to test Ukraine’s air defence network, which relies on a mix of Soviet-era systems and Western-supplied platforms. The Ukrainian Air Force said that aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare assets, unmanned systems units and mobile fire groups were involved in repelling the latest attack.

As of 16 September, the Russian drone offensive shows no sign of abating. With winter approaching and diplomatic channels frozen, Ukraine faces the prospect of months more of nightly attacks on its cities, infrastructure and people.

Sources: Ukrainska Pravda – 16 Sept, Ukrainska Pravda – 15 Sept, Ukrainska Pravda – 13 Sept, Ukrainska Pravda – 13 Sept – UN warning, Ukrainska Pravda – 13 Sept – Kremlin, Ukrainska Pravda – 5 Sept – 23 locations, Ukrainska Pravda – 6 Sept – WHO warehouses, Ukrainska Pravda – 5 Sept – combat colonel