Russia launches 165-drone overnight barrage on Ukraine; strikes hit Kyiv market and Kharkiv building
On the night of September 28, Russian forces struck Ukraine with 165 strike drones, including Shahed, Gerbera, and Parodiya types. Ukrainian air defense downed or suppressed 112 of them, but hits were recorded at 14 locations and debris at 7. Strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv caused multiple civilian casualties, including two killed at the Stolychnyi market on Kyiv's outskirts and at least 22 injured in Kharkiv.
Key points
- Russia launched 165 strike drones overnight into September 28, 79 of them jet-powered, plus Gerbera and Parodiya decoy drones.
- Launches came from Orel, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Shatalovo, occupied Donetsk Oblast, and Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea.
- As of 07:00 on September 28, Ukrainian air defense had downed or suppressed 112 drones.
- Hits were recorded at 14 locations and drone debris at 7; several drones remained in Ukrainian airspace in the morning.
- A drone hit the Stolychnyi market on Kyiv's outskirts, killing two and wounding about 10.
- A guided aerial bomb hit a multi-story building in Kharkiv's Saltivsky district, injuring at least 22 people including eight children.
Why it matters
The overnight attack was unusually large, mixing 165 strike drones — 79 of them jet-powered — with decoy types designed to overload air defenses, and stretched across multiple waves from the late afternoon of September 27 into the morning of September 28. It produced significant civilian harm in two major cities, including a fatal drone hit on a market on the outskirts of Kyiv and a guided-bomb strike on a residential building in Kharkiv that injured more than 20 people, over a third of them children.
What happened
Russian forces began the attack at 18:00 on September 27 and continued it through the night of September 28. They launched 165 strike drones of the Shahed type — 79 of them jet-powered — as well as Gerbera attack drones and Parodiya decoys. The drones were launched from Orel, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Shatalovo in Russia, from the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, and from Hvardiiske in temporarily occupied Crimea. By 07:00 on September 28, Ukrainian air defense had shot down or suppressed 112 of the drones, using aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups. Hits by Russian air attack means were recorded at 14 locations, and falling debris from downed drones at 7. Several drones were still in Ukrainian airspace as of the morning. In the Kyiv area, a Russian drone struck the Stolychnyi market on the city's outskirts, killing two people and wounding about 10. In Kyiv itself, hits were reported on a multi-story residential building, non-residential buildings, offices, and a gas station across the Podilsky, Shevchenkivsky, Obolonsky, and Pechersky districts, with three minors reported injured. In Kharkiv, Russia struck the Kyivsky and Saltivsky districts with guided aerial bombs overnight; a KAB hit a multi-story building in Saltivsky, injuring 22 people including eight children, according to Kharkiv ODA head Oleh Syniehubov. A separate drone strike in Kharkiv's Shevchenkivsky district was reported with casualty details still being clarified.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All seven Ukrainian sources uniformly attribute the attack to Russian forces. Agency reports (Interfax-Ukraine, Ukrinform) lead with the official Air Force figures — 112 of 165 downed, 14 hit locations, 7 debris sites — while media outlets (Suspilne, Ukrainska Pravda, NV, Babel, Radio Svoboda) foreground the human impact, naming the Stolychnyi market strike in Kyiv and the Saltivsky KAB hit in Kharkiv. Several outlets note that the engagement was still ongoing as of the morning, with drones remaining in Ukrainian airspace.
Where reporting differs
Casualty counts from the night attack on Kyiv diverge between reports: one account describes about 10 wounded and two killed at the Stolychnyi market on Kyiv's outskirts, another cites three injured minors in central Kyiv, and the State Emergency Service reports four injured with destruction in the Podilsky, Holosiivsky, Shevchenkivsky, and Pechersky districts. Kharkiv figures also vary: a reported 'at least 22 injured' across multi-district strikes is stated alongside Kharkiv ODA head Oleh Syniehubov's confirmation of 22 injured including eight children from a KAB hit in the Saltivsky district, while a separate account flags a drone strike in Kharkiv's Shevchenkivsky district with casualties still being clarified.
Background
The Shahed designator refers to Iranian-origin one-way attack drones adopted and domestically produced by Russia. Gerbera is a Russian cheap decoy/attack drone, and Parodiya is described as a decoy/imitator type used to overload air defenses. Launches were carried out from multiple sites across Russia and temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory.