Russia launched 161 drones at Ukraine overnight; 122 neutralised as of 08:00

Why it matters

The attack involved an unusually large number of drones (161) and a significant share of jet-powered Shaheds (82), indicating an escalation in the scale and capability of Russia's overnight strikes. Hits were recorded at 18 locations across multiple oblasts, with reported civilian casualties in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy and Kherson regions, and damage to infrastructure including a shopping mall, gas stations, warehouses and residential areas. Because the 122 targets neutralised were reported as preliminary and the attack was still ongoing as of 08:00, the final toll is likely to rise.

What happened

Russia attacked Ukraine on the night of 23 September (starting from 18:00 on 22 September) with 161 strike drones of various types. Of these, 82 were jet-powered Shahed strike drones; the rest included Gerbera drones, Parodia imitator decoys and Bandero/Dan-T small cruise missiles. The drones were launched from Oryol, Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Millerovo in Russia, and from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Hvardiiske in Crimea.

As of 08:00, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that air defence — involving aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Defence Forces — had shot down or suppressed 119 enemy drones (Shahed, Gerbera and other types) and 3 Bandero/Dan-T missiles, for a total of 122 targets. These figures were described as preliminary.

Hits by enemy air attack assets were recorded at 18 locations, and falling debris from downed targets was recorded at 8 further locations. At the time of the report the air attack was still ongoing and enemy drones remained in Ukrainian airspace.

In Kyiv, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported that reactive Shaheds hit warehouses in the Holosiivskyi district, two gas stations and two transport enterprises on both banks of the city. In the Darnytskyi district one person was injured and a fire broke out on the roof of a gas station. In the Solomianskyi district debris fell between residential buildings and a transport enterprise caught fire. In Kyiv region three people were wounded in nighttime attacks and 18 objects were damaged in four districts during the day.

In Zaporizhzhia the Amstor shopping mall in the Pivdennyi district was struck, causing a fire; two people were injured. In Kushuhum, Zaporizhzhia region, a man was killed by a drone strike and his house and neighbouring houses were damaged. In Kharkiv region Russians attacked Izium with eight guided aerial bombs (KAB), injuring at least eight people, damaging private and multi-storey buildings, and leaving part of the city without electricity. In Sumy long-range weapons hit four locations in the morning, injuring at least one person. In Odesa infrastructure was hit twice overnight with no casualties reported. In Kherson an elderly man was wounded by a drone, sustaining blast trauma, an open shin fracture and shrapnel wounds.

Where reporting differs

Article 31869 describes the 122 targets shot down or suppressed as 122 drones, while articles 31866, 31899, 31904, 31915 and 31884 break the figure down as 119 drones plus 3 Bandero/Dan-T missiles. The two framings reconcile to the same total of 122 targets, and there is no substantive disagreement among the sources.

Background

The drones were launched from Oryol, Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Millerovo in Russia and from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Hvardiiske in Crimea. The types used included Shahed strike drones, Gerbera drones, 'Parodia' imitator decoys and 'Banderol'/'Dan-T' small cruise missiles. The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of Ukraine's Defence Forces. The Air Force published the figures via Telegram, and the 122 targets neutralised were explicitly described as preliminary as of 08:00.