Russia launches 285 drones in a single day, Ukraine says it shot down most
Ukraine’s air defense reported that Russia deployed 285 drones on Wednesday, of which 254 were intercepted, including 146 reaction-type drones.
Ukrainian officials said Russia sent 285 drones into Ukrainian airspace on Wednesday, including 174 reaction-type drones, between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The country's air-defence forces reported shooting down or neutralising 254 of those drones, with 146 being reaction models. In addition to the drones, Russian forces fired several missiles into the eastern part of the country. The sustained attacks triggered emergency electricity shutdowns in Kyiv and the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr.
The drone and missile wave came after a major nocturnal assault on power facilities that left at least seven dead, among them a child, and damaged infrastructure in five regions. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that European factories producing weapons for Ukraine could become military targets. Ukrainian officials also noted the first use of a new reaction-drone payload designed to damage high-voltage power lines and bridge structures.
Why it matters
The large-scale drone offensive shows Russia’s escalating aerial pressure on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
How this story developed
- Sep 1 Russia multiplies jet-powered Shahed drone strikes fivefold in one month
- Sep 21 Election commission chair Ella Pamfilova said preliminary results will be announced Monday at 11 hours (10 hours in Paris).
- Sep 21 Russia's defence ministry said it will increase the frequency and precision of its strikes on Kyiv.
- Sep 21 Partial results show United Russia holding at least 338 of the 450 Duma seats.
- Sep 21 The Quai d’Orsay condemns holding the vote in the occupied territories of Crimea and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, calling it a violation of international law and the UN Charter and stating Fran
- Sep 25 Ukrainian commanders announced further territorial gains around Lyman since the initial report.
- Sep 25 Estonia's foreign minister Margus Tsahkna claimed Russia ordered the August arson at Milrem Robotics in Tallinn, a charge the Kremlin dismissed as baseless.
- Sep 26 Russian attacks killed four civilians in Ukraine, while a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia's Krasnodar region killed three people.
- Sep 27 Operators now use Discord to coordinate the robots with drones.
- Sep 27 German de‑escalation pleas were rejected and talks have stalled.
- 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 Russian government publicly denied the sabotage allegation.
- Sep 29 The latest 24‑hour wave of Russian attacks resulted in one death and 56 injuries nationwide.
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