Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles and over 120 drones overnight; strikes kill civilians and two police officers
In the night of September 3–4, Russia launched a large-scale aerial attack on Ukraine using a Kh-31 guided missile and 121 drones, about half of them jet-powered. Ukrainian air defenses reported intercepting most of the incoming weapons, but strikes hit multiple regions including Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, killing at least two civilians and two police officers. A fire at a Rosneft oil depot in Sochi was also reported during the same night.
Key points
- Russia attacked overnight on September 3–4 with a Kh-31 guided missile and 121 drones; about half were jet-powered types.
- By 09:30 on September 4, Ukraine's Air Force said air defenses had downed 103 enemy UAVs; hits were recorded at 15 locations and falling debris at 6 locations.
- A Russian strike on Odesa killed one person and injured three; in the Kyiv district of the city, apartments on floors 6–8 were damaged, along with neighboring buildings, 28 vehicles and roughly 500 windows.
- In Kyiv, a fire broke out at a non-residential building in the Solomianskyi district and a woman was injured in the Holosiivskyi district; in Brovary, a fire hit an industrial enterprise.
- In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, evening and overnight strikes killed two police officers — Captain Oleksandr Hryhorenko and Senior Lieutenant Serhii Shmatko — who had been documenting the aftermath of an earlier hit in Bohdanivska community of Pavlohrad district; a third officer was hospitalized.
- The Russian army attacked six districts of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast more than 40 times during the day on September 4, and struck Kharkiv and 24 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast.
- Over the previous day the General Staff recorded 240 combat clashes along the front, with the heaviest fighting on the Pokrovsk (38) and Kostiantynivka (24) directions.
- A fire was reported at the Rosneft-Kubannefteprodukt oil depot in Sochi's Adler district the same night, following a probable drone attack; explosions were also heard near an air defense division deployment in the area.
- Sources differ on the number of drones downed: one Air Force figure cited 101 Russian drones plus two 'Banderol' drones, while a later preliminary figure gave 103 enemy UAVs by 09:30.
- Sources also differ on Dnipropetrovsk casualties: earlier reports gave one killed and three wounded, while later reporting identified two police officers killed and a third hospitalized.
Why it matters
The attack involved a volley of more than 120 drones, with about half being harder-to-intercept jet-powered types, illustrating how Russian strikes are scaling up in volume and changing in tactic. Civilian casualties were reported in multiple regions, and in Odesa roughly 500 windows were damaged in a single densely populated district. The deaths of two police officers who were documenting the aftermath of an earlier strike in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast underscore the danger facing emergency and law-enforcement responders during repeat drone hits. A fire at a Rosneft oil depot in Sochi during the same night points to possible Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory. The General Staff's count of 240 combat clashes over the previous day underlines that ground fighting is running in parallel with the aerial bombardment.
What happened
In the night of September 3–4, Russia attacked Ukraine with a Kh-31 guided aircraft missile and 121 drones, roughly half of them jet-powered. Ukrainian air defenses, including aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic-warfare units, unmanned-systems units and mobile fire groups, engaged the incoming weapons. By 09:30 on September 4, the Air Force said 103 enemy UAVs had been downed, though an earlier figure gave 101 Russian drones plus two 'Banderol' drones; hits were recorded at 15 locations and falling debris at 6. Strikes and shrapnel hit the Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In Odesa, one person was killed and three injured; in the Kyiv district, apartments on floors 6–8 of one building were hit, along with neighboring buildings, 28 vehicles and roughly 500 windows. In Kyiv, a non-residential building caught fire in the Solomianskyi district and a woman was injured in the Holosiivskyi district. In Brovary, a fire broke out at an industrial enterprise. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, evening and overnight strikes killed two police officers — Captain Oleksandr Hryhorenko and Senior Lieutenant Serhii Shmatko — who had been sent to document the aftermath of an earlier hit in Bohdanivska community of Pavlohrad district; a third officer was hospitalized. During the day on September 4 the Russian army attacked six districts of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast more than 40 times and struck Kharkiv and 24 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast; Ukrainian drone operators reported destroying 60 Russian air targets over Zaporizhzhia, most of them 'Molniya' drones. The same night, a fire broke out at the Rosneft-Kubannefteprodukt oil depot in Sochi's Adler district after what local reporting described as a probable drone attack, and explosions were heard near an air defense division deployment in the area.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All seven supplied articles are Ukrainian-language domestic media that frame the events from a Ukrainian official and emergency-services perspective. Coverage centers on the scale of Ukrainian air-defense interception and draws on Ukrainian official sources: the Air Force, the General Staff, Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Brovary Ihor Sapozhko, Odesa first deputy mayor Oleksandr Filatov and Dnipropetrovsk OVA head Oleksandr Hanzha. Ukrainian outlets highlight personal stories such as the two named police officers killed while documenting the aftermath of a strike in Bohdanivska community, and report the Sochi oil-depot fire alongside domestic strike coverage as part of the same night's events.
Where reporting differs
Two sets of figures diverge in the reporting. First, the count of drones downed during the night of September 4: one Air Force figure cited 101 Russian drones plus two 'Banderol' drones, while a later preliminary figure gave 103 enemy UAVs neutralized by 09:30. Second, casualty figures for Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on September 4: some reports give one killed and three wounded, while later reporting identifies two police officers killed (Captain Oleksandr Hryhorenko and Senior Lieutenant Serhii Shmatko) and a third officer hospitalized.
Background
The September 3–4 attack is part of a continuing pattern of nightly Russian long-range drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities that began early in the full-scale invasion. Ukraine's air-defense response relies on aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic-warfare units, unmanned-systems units and mobile fire groups operating together. Russian cumulative personnel losses since the start of the full-scale invasion are estimated by Ukraine's General Staff at around 1,493,790. The Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka directions in Donetsk Oblast remain the most active sections of the front line.