Russia launches 108-drone attack on Ukraine overnight as US envoys prepare to visit Kyiv
On the night of September 6, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 108 strike drones, including Shahed, Gerbera, Parodiya decoys, and S8000 Banderole types, launched from Millerovo, Orel, Kursk, occupied Donetsk, and Gvardiiske in Crimea. Ukrainian air defense said it had shot down or suppressed 82 of the Shahed/Gerbera-type drones and six S8000 Banderoles by 09:30, with hits recorded at 11 locations and drone debris at seven. The attack coincided with the planned Kyiv visit of US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner following their meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Key points
- Russia launched 108 strike drones at Ukraine overnight on September 6, including Shahed, Gerbera, Parodiya decoys, and S8000 Banderole types, launched from Millerovo, Orel, Kursk, occupied Donetsk, and Gvardiiske in Crimea.
- As of 09:30, Ukrainian air defense had shot down or suppressed 82 Shahed/Gerbera-type drones and six S8000 Banderoles; hits were recorded at 11 locations and drone debris at seven.
- The Ukrainian Air Forces warned the attack was ongoing with drones still being detected in Ukrainian airspace.
- In Odesa Oblast, the Orlivka border crossing with Romania temporarily suspended operations; in Kyiv Oblast, rescuers extinguished a large-scale fire in the Fastiv district.
- The attack coincided with the planned first visit of US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv, after their three-hour meeting with Putin in Moscow described by Russian aide Yuri Ushakov as 'substantive and constructive.'
- The Kremlin claimed Putin had ordered no strikes on Kyiv from September 5 to 8 / for three days starting the night of September 6 in connection with the visit, though Zelensky said Russian strikes hit two Kyiv airports and Boryspil ahead of the envoys' arrival.
- Ukraine unilaterally paused long-range strikes on Russia and declared a silence regime along the front line from September 5 to 8; the General Staff said Russia refused to observe a ceasefire.
- Russian sources reported reciprocal damage: a civilian killed in Belgorod Oblast, a child injured in Rostov Oblast, a fire at a facility in Ryazan Oblast, and the Russian Defense Ministry claimed 258 Ukrainian drones intercepted overnight.
Why it matters
The overnight barrage underlined the gap between the diplomatic track around the Witkoff–Kushner visit and the reality of continued Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Russia's claimed moratorium on striking Kyiv was directly contradicted by Zelensky's account of attacks on Kyiv airports and Boryspil. Ukraine's unilateral de-escalation steps — the pause on long-range strikes and the front-line silence regime from September 5 to 8 — were met with continued Russian attacks, highlighting the asymmetry between the two sides' approaches during the diplomatic window.
What happened
In the early hours of September 6, Russia launched 108 strike drones at Ukraine from multiple directions — Millerovo, Orel, Kursk, occupied Donetsk, and Gvardiiske in Crimea — using Shahed-type (including jet-powered variants), Gerbera, Parodiya decoy, and S8000 Banderole drones. By 09:30, the Ukrainian Air Forces reported 82 Shahed/Gerbera-type drones shot down or suppressed, plus six S8000 Banderoles, with hits at 11 locations and drone debris at seven. The attack was still ongoing as of the morning report. In Odesa Oblast, the Orlivka border crossing with Romania temporarily suspended operations, and in Kyiv Oblast rescuers extinguished a large-scale fire in the Fastiv district. The same day, US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, fresh from a three-hour Moscow meeting with Vladimir Putin, were expected to arrive in Kyiv — their first visit to the Ukrainian capital, originally planned for August but postponed because of intensified Russian strikes. Zelensky said Russian forces had struck two Kyiv airports and Boryspil ahead of the envoys' arrival, framing the strikes as a response to the diplomatic track. The Kremlin had stated on September 5 that Putin ordered no strikes on Kyiv for the period of the visit, though the exact dates of that moratorium were reported inconsistently.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources frame the September 6 attack as an ongoing operation, with the Air Forces explicitly warning that drones were still being detected in Ukrainian airspace as of the morning report. Coverage centers the concrete consequences on the ground — hits at 11 locations, debris at seven, the suspension of operations at the Orlivka–Romania border crossing, and the large-scale fire in Kyiv Oblast's Fastiv district. Zelensky's framing dominates: the strikes are presented as a Russian reaction to the diplomatic preparations around the US delegation's arrival, and Kyiv's statement that it had "recorded this Russian step" and would adjust its operations regarding Russian airspace. Ukrainian outlets also foreground the General Staff's confirmation that Russia refused to honor Ukraine's unilateral September 5–8 silence initiative along the front line, portraying the gap between Ukraine's de-escalation gestures and Russia's continued attacks as a deliberate asymmetry.
How international sources describe it
International coverage, including the Qatari-source Arabic-language reporting, emphasizes the reciprocity of drone exchanges, presenting attacks in both directions rather than centering Russian strikes on Ukraine. It also gives significant weight to the diplomatic track: the three-hour Putin–Witkoff–Kushner meeting, Ushakov's characterization of the talks as "substantive and constructive" and marked by a high degree of candor and trust, and Trump's framing of the envoys' mission as bringing a "peace idea" and a proposal to end the war. Reciprocal damage inside Russia is highlighted: a civilian killed in Belgorod Oblast, a child injured in Rostov Oblast, a fire at a facility in Ryazan Oblast, and Russian claims of intercepting 258 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the precise dates of the Kremlin-announced moratorium on striking Kyiv: one account says "from September 5 to 8," while another says "three days starting the night of September 6." Reporting also varies on how to characterize the attack's status — the Ukrainian Air Forces described it as still ongoing with drones being detected in Ukrainian airspace, while other accounts frame it as the overnight wave of September 6, largely intercepted by 09:30.
Background
The Witkoff–Kushner visit to Kyiv was originally planned for August and was postponed because of intensified Russian strikes. In Moscow, Putin held a three-hour meeting with the two envoys that Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov called "substantive and constructive"; Ushakov said the meeting was the envoys' eighth visit to Russia and that they had raised ideas on possible solutions to the Ukraine crisis in addition to stressing the importance of stopping hostilities. The Kremlin's claimed pause on strikes against Kyiv was announced in connection with preparations for the envoys' visit to the Ukrainian capital. Ukraine, for its part, launched a unilateral silence regime along the front line from September 5 to 8 and paused long-range strikes on Russia to ensure the "normal functioning of Russian airspace," though the General Staff said Russia refused to reciprocate.