---
title: "Russia's Night Attack on Ukraine: Air Defense Neutralized 124 Drones, Impacts Recorded at 17 Locations"
description: "On the night of August 24–25, Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones. By 09:00, air defense forces had neutralized 124 UAVs, impacts were recorded at 17 locations, and a border crossing on the Moldovan border was temporarily closed."
date: 2026-08-25T06:34:02.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/russia-night-attack-ukraine-air-defense-124-drones
tags: [ukraine-war, air-defense, russia-attack, drones, shahed, border-crossing]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Russia's Night Attack on Ukraine: Air Defense Neutralized 124 Drones, Impacts Recorded at 17 Locations

![Air defense surface-to-air missile system with an eight-missile launcher providing protection against Russian drone and missile night attacks](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/25/noch-ataka-rf-na-ukrainu-ppo-sbila-124-drona/noch-ataka-rf-na-ukrainu-ppo-sbila-124-drona-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Russia's aerial attack began at 18:00 on August 24 and was carried out with missiles and drones of various types.
- By 09:00 on August 25, air defense forces, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces press service, had neutralized 124 UAVs (Shahed, "Gerbera," and others).
- Impacts were recorded at 17 locations and debris falls at 7 locations; individual drones remained in the air.
- The operation of the "Vinohradivka — Vulcaniștii" border crossing on the Moldovan border was temporarily suspended; a strike was delivered to a shopping center in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
- Sources disagree on the final number of drones shot down (124 versus 243), which is reflected as contradictory data.

During the night of August 24–25, 2026, the Russian armed forces launched a massive strike on Ukraine using various types of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces press service, the aerial attack began as early as 18:00 on August 24 and continued throughout the night. Amid the attack, the country's air defense forces repelled the majority of the aerial attack means, although some broke through to their targets, as confirmed by recorded impacts and debris falls in several regions.

### Timeline and Forces That Repelled the Strike

As reported by the Ukrainian Armed Forces press service, the repelling of the night strike was carried out by several branches and services simultaneously: the Air Force, air defense missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, as well as mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. This multi-component approach allowed interception at different altitudes and in different responsibility zones — in the north, south, and east of the country. As of 09:00 on August 25, air defense forces, according to official data, had managed to neutralize 124 enemy UAVs of the Shahed, "Gerbera," and other types.

### Impacts and Debris Falls

The Ukrainian Armed Forces press service statement notes that impacts of the enemy's aerial attack means were recorded at 17 locations, as well as the fall of destroyed objects (debris) at 7 locations. Ukrainian defenders additionally warned civilians that, at the time of the statement's publication, several enemy drones were still in the airspace, which required maintaining an elevated state of alert. It is separately noted that during the attack, facilities in several major Ukrainian cities were hit, and a strike was also delivered to a shopping and entertainment center in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

### Impact on Infrastructure and Border Traffic

As a result of Russia's new attack, the operation of the international border crossing point "Vinohradivka — Vulcaniștii" on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border was temporarily suspended. This creates additional difficulties for transit and cross-border communication. According to available information, strikes on major cities and infrastructure facilities confirm that the adversary continues to use combined attack scenarios, combining ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drone swarms, to overload the air defense system.

### Contradictory Data

There is a discrepancy in figures on the number of drones shot down between various sources. In the official statement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces press service, on which this article is based, 124 neutralized UAVs are mentioned as of 09:00 on August 25 — this is an interim assessment at a specific point in time. Meanwhile, a number of media outlets (in particular, federal Russian and Ukrainian aggregators) cite a significantly higher figure — 243 drones shot down, which most likely reflects the final tally for the entire night or a different scope of attack means. These figures are not mutually exclusive if considered as snapshots at different stages; however, an exact match of versions at the time of publication has not been confirmed. In addition, certain materials on night attacks on Moscow (including one dated August 20, 2026) describe different events and are not used in this article to confirm facts about the strike on Ukraine.

Thus, the night attack of August 24–25, 2026, is confirmed by several independent sources and the official statement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The key facts — the start of the attack at 18:00, the involvement of multi-component air defense, 124 drones shot down by morning, 17 impact locations and 7 debris fall locations, as well as the temporary closure of the "Vinohradivka — Vulcaniștii" border crossing — are presented strictly based on primary data. Discrepancies in final drone tallies between sources are reflected in a separate section for a fair representation of the picture.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Missiles Broke Through, There Are Impacts: How Air Defense Repelled Russia's Night Attack](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/raketi-prorvalisya-e-priloti-k-ppo-vidbivala-1787639439.html) - Подтверждает факт ночной атаки РФ, прорыв части средств нападения и наличие прилетов; согласуется с заявлением ПС ВСУ о 17 локациях прилетов.
- [Night UAV Attack: Air Defense Means Shot Down 243 Drones](https://fedpress.ru/news/77/incidents/3444460) - Подтверждает масштаб атаки БПЛА, но приводит цифру 243 сбитых, что не совпадает с утренним показателем 124 по ВСУ; вероятно, итоговый подсчет за всю ночь. Различие отражено в разделе противоречивых данных.
- [Night Attack on Kyiv: How Much Ballistic Missiles Air Defense Managed to Shoot Down](https://glavred.info/war/nochnaya-ataka-na-kiev-skolko-ballistiki-udalos-sbit-pvo-10783640.html) - Подтверждает применение баллистики в ночной атаке и работу ПВО над крупными городами (Киев), согласуется с упоминанием ракет в первичном тексте.
- [Night Attack on Moscow: First Eight UAVs Shot Down](https://ukraina.ru/20260820/nochnaya-ataka-na-moskvu-sbity-pervye-vosem-bpla-1082639964.html) - Описывает иное событие (ночная атака на Москву, дата 20.08.2026) и не используется для подтверждения фактов об ударе по Украине 24–25.08.2026; в статье указано как нерелевантный контекст.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: When did Russia's night attack on Ukraine begin?
**A:** According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces press service, the aerial attack began at 18:00 on August 24, 2026, and continued throughout the night.

### Q: How many drones did air defense forces shoot down by the morning of August 25?
**A:** By 09:00 on August 25, according to the official statement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces press service, air defense forces had neutralized 124 enemy UAVs of the Shahed, "Gerbera," and other types. Some sources cite a higher final figure (243), which is reflected as a discrepancy between versions.

### Q: Where were impacts and debris falls recorded?
**A:** Impacts of aerial attack means were recorded at 17 locations and the fall of debris from destroyed objects at 7 locations. A strike was also delivered to a shopping center in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and to several major cities.

### Q: What are the consequences for border communication?
**A:** The operation of the international border crossing point "Vinohradivka — Vulcaniștii" on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border was temporarily suspended.