Russian drone strikes intensify across Ukraine, killing police and civilians in multiple regions

Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine have killed at least eight people in the past week, including two police officers in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, as Moscow escalates long-range attacks despite renewed diplomatic efforts.

On 4 September, a Russian drone struck a police vehicle in Bohdanivka hromada, Pavlohrad district, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing two officers and seriously injuring a third. The attack was reported by Ukrainska Pravda with a photograph showing the aftermath.

Since then, drone and missile strikes have hit at least six regions, including Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk itself. On 8 September, a Russian missile struck near police in the capital, with bodycam footage released by Al Jazeera capturing the moment of impact. No casualties were reported in that incident, according to emergency services.

Border crossing hit

In the early hours of 9 September, Russian drones struck the Starokozache road border crossing with Moldova in Odesa Oblast, killing two civilians and injuring three others, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as cited by the BBC. Governor Oleh Kiper reported that a fire broke out and passenger and vehicle traffic was temporarily halted. A Moldovan driver was also injured, the Moldovan foreign ministry confirmed.

“The aggression must be stopped here and now before it spreads any further,” Zelensky said in a statement.

Moldova has increasingly been drawn into the conflict. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said that 17 Russian drones struck Moldovan territory in August alone – more than during the whole of 2025. “Those who ignore or downplay these threats – and refuse to name the aggressor – are denying reality,” he wrote on social media.

Widespread attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine

On 6 September, Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast killed two people and injured 20, including children, Ukrainska Pravda reported. In a separate incident, two children and three adults were wounded in strikes on the Bilozerka and Chornobaivka districts of the region, according to another report.

The following day, Russian forces attacked a residential district of Balakliia in Kharkiv Oblast, causing damage but no immediate casualty figures were provided (Ukrainska Pravda).

On 8 September, two people were killed and nine injured in renewed Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainska Pravda reported. The area had already suffered the police deaths four days earlier.

Mykolaiv Oblast also came under fire on 9 September, with two killed and twelve injured in strikes that damaged port, transport and civilian infrastructure, according to photos and a report from Ukrainska Pravda.

Russian claims and context

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had struck a Ukrainian cargo vessel carrying military equipment in the Black Sea en route to Odesa port, as well as a warehouse in Kyiv allegedly belonging to a drone manufacturer, Russian news agencies reported. The ministry also claimed to have shot down 596 Ukrainian drones overnight on 8–9 September.

These claims could not be independently verified. The attacks come as US peace envoys held “substantive” talks with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv this week, but Moscow resumed near-constant air attacks on the capital shortly after the visit ended.

Strategic significance

The wave of drone strikes underscores Russia’s continued ability to strike deep into Ukrainian territory, including near the NATO border with Moldova. The targeting of police officers – first responders – and border crossings is seen by analysts as an attempt to disrupt civilian life and pressure Kyiv into concessions. Moldova’s heightened exposure, with drones landing on its soil, raises the risk of a broader regional escalation.

Ukraine’s Western partners have condemned the attacks but have so far not announced new air defence packages beyond those already pledged. The strikes on Dnipropetrovsk, a key logistics hub for the front line in the east, are part of a pattern of trying to degrade Ukrainian supply routes.

As the war enters its fifth year, the drone war over Ukraine shows no signs of abating.