On the night of September 28, Russian forces launched one of the most massive unmanned aerial vehicle attacks, deploying 165 strike and decoy drones across Ukraine. According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the large-scale raid began at 18:00 the previous day and affected multiple regions of the country. Among the weapons used were 79 jet-powered drones, significantly increasing the load on Ukraine's air defense system due to their high speed.
Launch Geography and Enemy Tactics
The routes of the enemy drones covered six different directions. Launches were recorded from the territory of the Russian Federation from the areas of Orel, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Shatalovo. In addition, the invaders actively used launching pads in the temporarily occupied territory of the Ukrainian Donbas, as well as in the area of Hvardiyske in temporarily occupied Crimea. Alongside classic Shahed strike drones, the enemy actively utilized Gerbera drones and Parodiya decoy drones, creating false targets to exhaust anti-aircraft missile systems.
Air Defense Operational Results
As of 07:00 in the morning, Ukraine's air defense forces successfully eliminated, shot down, or suppressed 112 enemy targets using electronic warfare equipment. Despite the effective work of anti-aircraft gunners, hits could not be entirely avoided. Impacts of enemy drones were recorded at 14 locations in various regions. At another 7 locations, falling debris from intercepted aerial targets caused local destruction and fires on civilian infrastructure land.
Contradictory Data
It is worth noting that morning operational reports from various monitoring channels and news aggregators differ slightly regarding the number of launched drones. Some specialized publications, citing alternative military sources, initially recorded a figure of 162 pieces of equipment, of which 76 were allegedly jet-powered. Nevertheless, the official data from the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine remain baseline and confirm 1,65 launched devices, including 79 jet modifications.
Regional Impact and Consequences
In addition to the nighttime drone raid, Russian forces carried out associated strikes on peaceful cities. On the evening of September 27, a strike drone detonated on the territory of the Stolychnyi market in Sofiivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv. Concurrently, deep at night, a massive guided aerial bomb strike hit two districts of Kharkiv. In the Saltivskyi district, numerous residential buildings suffered destruction, and the number of injured civilians exceeded 20 people, including 8 children.
