Ukrainian air defenses successfully repelled a massive Russian drone attack overnight on 16 September, intercepting 53 out of 56 Shahed-131/136 “kamikaze” unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Three remaining drones were “locationally lost,” meaning disappeared from radars, likely crashing. The assault, which began at 20:00 on 15 September and lasted until 06:00 on 16 September, primarily targeted Kyiv Oblast.
The Air Force reported that the drones were launched from Kursk and Yeysk in Russia, . Air defense systems were activated in nine oblasts: Kyiv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk. Meanwhile, air raid alerts were also issued across several regions, including Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Volyn, Rivne, Kharkiv, and Donetsk, as drones passed through or other aerial threats like bombs or missiles were detected.
The defense effort involved aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Defense Forces of Ukraine.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, stated that this was the eighth massive night attack on Kyiv since the beginning of September. He reported that air defenses destroyed nearly 20 drones around the capital, which were approaching from various directions.
While no casualties were reported in Kyiv City, the Kyiv Oblast police later documented damage to civilian houses and vehicles, with one person injured as a result of the attack.
In Cherkasy Oblast, Governor Ihor Taburets reported that the region was under alert for almost eight hours due to Russian drones changing routes from different directions. Nine drones were neutralized in the area, with no reports of casualties or infrastructure damage.
Not only Shaheds
Concurrently, Russian forces continued to use KAB guided bombs to strike northern border regions. The Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported 13 bomb attacks on border areas and settlements overnight and in the early morning of 16 September, with 25 explosions recorded. The Khotinska, Bilopilska, Krasnopilska, Novoslobidska, Shalyhynska, and Velykopysarivska communities were affected by various types of attacks, including air strikes with KAB bombs, artillery shelling, and FPV drone strikes.
Kharkiv Oblast chief Oleh Syniehubov reported that yesterday’s Russian bomb strike on a residential block in Kharkiv resulted in one civilian death and 43 injuries, including four children. The KAB bombs hit Kupiansk yesterday, injuring a civilian man and two women. This morning, Russian shelling injured a 76-year-old woman in the Izium district.
Related:
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