Russia deploys jet-powered steel-cutting drone against Ukrainian power lines
Russia used a jet-powered UAV equipped with a shaped-charge warhead to strike a high-voltage power pylon in Ukraine, according to presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov.
Presidential adviser Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov reported that Russia employed, for the first time, a jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle fitted with a shaped-charge warhead designed to sever high-voltage pylons and steel bridge structures. The drone, carrying a 40-kilogram main charge and four auxiliary modules, struck a power tower in Kyiv region during a coordinated assault that also saw roughly 190 attack drones and several ballistic missiles deployed.
The strike caused emergency power cuts in Kyiv, as well as in the Chernihiv and Zhytomyr oblasts, while other regions faced repeated hits on critical infrastructure. Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi noted the unprecedented scale of the combined attack since the end of the last heating season. Ukraine's grid, already strained by summer demand and previous Russian attacks, faces heightened risk as winter approaches, with the State Emergency Service warning of near-freezing temperatures in early October.
Why it matters
The new drone weapon threatens Ukraine's power grid just before winter, raising the risk of prolonged outages and humanitarian hardship.
How this story developed
- Sep 1 Russia multiplies jet-powered Shahed drone strikes fivefold in one month
- Sep 23 Russia fired multiple waves of ballistic missiles at Kiev overnight, causing at least two deaths and six injuries.
- Sep 24 The wave of strikes expanded beyond Kyiv to hit Odessa and the Kharkiv region, raising the death toll.
- Sep 24 The Russian attack involved 282 drones and several missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force.
- Sep 25 Ukrainian commanders announced further territorial gains around Lyman since the initial report.
- Sep 25 Mayor Vitali Klitschko updated the death toll to seven and the injury count to 46.
- Sep 26 Russia has refused ICRC‑facilitated evacuations for Oleshky residents.
- Sep 26 Russian attacks killed four civilians in Ukraine, while a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia's Krasnodar region killed three people.
- Sep 27 A 14‑year‑old Israeli boy was killed in the Kyiv drone strike.
- Sep 27 German de‑escalation pleas were rejected and talks have stalled.
- Sep 28 The last ground convoy reached Oleshky on May 26, and no further deliveries have been reported.
- Sep 28 Ukrainian forces announced the latest village recaptures as part of Operation Vivaldi’s third phase.
- Sep 28 Russian strikes this week damaged Kyiv data centres and set fire to the National Academy of Sciences.
- Sep 29 The latest 24‑hour wave of Russian attacks resulted in one death and 56 injuries nationwide.
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