Ukraine's military
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU) are the military forces of the Ukrainian state, comprising the Ground Forces, the Air Force, the Navy, and Special Operations Forces among other branches. The General Staff serves as the highest command body, with the current Commander-in-Chief being Oleksandr Syrskyi. Since 24 February 2022, the ZSU have been engaged in full-scale combat operations against the armed forces of the Russian Federation in the war initiated by Russia. The force was built on the foundations inherited from the Soviet-era Ukrainian SSR's military and has expanded significantly since the start of the full-scale invasion.
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Budanov: Drone Deal partners may gain access to Ukraine's jet-drone interception technology
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Euronews that countries holding Drone Deal cooperation agreements with Kyiv may negotiate access to new Ukrainian technologies for intercepting Russian jet-powered drones. He said Ukraine is already using the technology experimentally in combat, where it succeeds in most cases, and that the main challenge is scaling up production before the harshest part of winter.
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Ukraine's defense minister asks EU for Patriot missiles and funding for drone interceptors
Ukraine's Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara addressed EU defense ministers on September 28 at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, asking member states to transfer part of their Patriot missile stockpiles to Ukraine and to help finance Ukrainian production of interceptors for jet-powered Shahed-type drones. He also requested air-to-air missiles, man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), and F-16 ammunition, and called on partners to move EU loan funds planned for 2027 into 2026.
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Ukraine's commander-in-chief orders review of General Staff officers, prioritising combat experience
Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi has launched a personnel review of officers serving in Ukraine's General Staff, with the stated goal of retaining those who have combat experience and are capable of commanding troops. On 28 September he personally met heads of the General Staff's structural subdivisions to set out his expectations, with a 2 October deadline for reports on officers lacking frontline experience since 2022 and for eligible officers to decide on discharge.
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Russia hits Kyiv and ten oblasts in large overnight missile and drone attack
Russia launched a large overnight missile and drone strike on 28–29 September 2025, hitting Kyiv and at least ten oblasts. Ukrainian air defense said all incoming missiles and 106 drones were intercepted, but the salvo damaged a major Kyiv railway depot, data and business centers, residential buildings, energy infrastructure and two foreign vessels in Odesa region.
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Ukraine and Belgium agree on transfer of three F-16 jets by year-end
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on 29 September that Ukraine and Belgium had reached an agreement to transfer three F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of the year under an expedited procedure. Zelensky said Ukraine had already received ammunition for F-16s from Belgium and other countries including Spain, and thanked Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and the Belgian government for their support.
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Ukrainian drones hit Edelweiss-95 oil depot in Krasnodar Krai, SBU claims four depot strikes overnight
In the night of 28 September 2026, drones struck the Edelweiss-95 oil depot in stanitsa Novotitarovskaya, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, sparking a fire. Ukraine's SBU said it struck four oil depots in the region overnight using drones from its Alpha Special Operations Center. Russian regional authorities had not officially confirmed the attack at the time of initial reporting.
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Ukraine suspends non-priority spending as PM warns of critical fiscal squeeze
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved a decision on 28 September prioritizing state expenditures toward defense, pensions, social payments and public-sector salaries, while suspending non-critical construction, reconstruction, capital repairs and beautification projects until the end of the war. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said part of the pressure stems from delayed international financing, in part because Ukraine has not fulfilled some of its commitments to international partners. The government has identified about $7 billion through internal optimization against a reported $27 billion Ministry of Defense deficit.
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Russia offers $20 million bounty for location of Ukrainian drone commander 'Madyar' Brovdi
The Wall Street Journal reports that Russia has placed a $20 million bounty through post-Soviet criminal networks for information leading to the location of Robert 'Madyar' Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. Russian courts have convicted Brovdi in absentia on terrorism charges. Brovdi told WSJ his unit accounts for about one-third of Russian losses over the past year, despite making up only 2.5% of Ukraine's armed forces.
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Ukraine hits two Russian defense plants, oil and drone sites in multi-region strikes
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces struck two Russian defense plants in the Tula and Voronezh regions overnight on September 28, alongside oil facilities in Krasnodar Krai, drone-launch sites in Kaluga and Oryol, targets in Bryansk, and a target in the Black Sea. SBU units struck oil facilities in Krasnodar during the day, and Russian authorities reported downed drones and damage in Voronezh region.
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Ukrainian forces deliver 4 tonnes of food by drone to occupied Oleshky as humanitarian crisis deepens
Ukrainian forces used drones to deliver about 4,000 kg of food to 100 locations in Russian-occupied Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, one of the largest such operations since systematic drone deliveries across the Dnipro began in March. Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian forces shoot down delivery drones, seize or resell the food, and detain and beat residents who receive aid. The situation has been raised at the UN Security Council, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha comparing the blockade to the 1932–1933 Holodomor.
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Zelenskyy: Russia launched over 2,200 strike drones at Ukraine in one week, calls de-escalation signals "fake"
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on September 27 that Russia launched more than 2,200 strike drones, approximately 1,650 aerial bombs, and 38 missiles — many ballistic — at Ukraine over the past week. In a single recent day Russia used 277 strike drones, 155 of them jet-powered. Zelenskyy called Russia's diplomatic signals about de-escalation fake, said the strikes on kindergartens and schools amount to terrorism, and announced that new sanctions packages and the U.S. Lindsay Graham law are being prepared for October.
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Russia launches 170 drones at Ukraine overnight; 147 shot down, hits recorded in multiple oblasts
On the night of September 27, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 170 strike drones, 76 of them jet-powered, including Shahed, Gerbera and 'Parodia' decoy types. Ukrainian air defense had destroyed or suppressed 147 of them by 07:30, with hits at 18 locations and debris at 8 more. Strikes hit sites in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Dnipropetrovstsk oblasts, killing at least three people.
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Russian strikes kill two, injure several in Kharkiv Oblast; Metalist stadium hit by FPV drone
Over the past day, Russian forces struck Kharkiv city and 21 settlements across Kharkiv Oblast, killing two people and injuring others including four children, according to the head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov. The OSK Metalist stadium in the Slobidskyi district of Kharkiv was also hit by a Russian FPV drone on September 26, 2025, with its facade damaged and no casualties reported at the venue.
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Ukrainian strikes hit Azov optical-mechanical plant, Ilysky refinery, and Russian air-defense assets overnight
On the night of 25–26 September 2026, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant in Rostov Oblast — a facility linked by open-source analysts to several Russian missile programs — along with the Ilysky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, a Pantsir-S2 air-defense system, an ammunition depot in Sievierodonetsk, and a P-18 Terek radar in Donetsk Oblast. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the Azov strike was carried out by its Alpha Special Operations Center together with the Ukrainian Navy, using Neptune cruise missiles and Ruta, Palyanytsya, and Bars jet drone-missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly confirmed the strikes.
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Ukrainian drones hit two Russian oil refineries and defence-linked plants overnight into 25 September
In the night of 24–25 September 2026, Ukrainian drones struck multiple Russian industrial sites far behind the front line. The Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery in Perm was hit and a fire broke out; the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Rostov Oblast suspended operations after being damaged; the Iskra microelectronics plant in Ulyanovsk, part of the Almaz-Antey defence concern, was also struck, along with a synthetic-rubber plant in Voronezh. Russia's General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the strikes on the two refineries, and President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly acknowledged the attacks.
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Russia launches 295 drones at Ukraine overnight; 267 intercepted, hits reported at 16 locations
On the night of 24–25 September 2026, Russia attacked Ukraine with 295 strike drones of various types, including 52 jet-powered Shaheds, Gerbera, Banderole/Dan-T munitions, and Parodia decoy drones. Ukrainian air defense shot down or suppressed 267 of them, but hits were recorded at 16 locations and falling debris at 4 more. Fires broke out in two districts of Kyiv and three districts of Kyiv Oblast, a hospital in Zaporizhzhia was damaged, and injuries were reported in both cities.
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Zelensky declares Ukraine ready for energy, grain and maritime ceasefires as Russia rejects energy proposal
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on 22 September 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump and announced Ukraine is ready for reciprocal ceasefires in energy, grain and maritime domains. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on 23 September that both sides expressed interest in a limited ceasefire, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the energy proposal and Russia's Vladimir Putin again insisted on maximalist war aims. The prospect of a trilateral meeting was left to the G20 summit in Miami on 14–15 December, where Putin's participation remains disputed.
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Russia launches large-scale combined missile and drone strike on Ukraine overnight, killing two in Kyiv
On the night of 24 September 2026, Russia attacked Ukraine with Zircon anti-ship missiles, Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 282 drones, with the main strikes directed at Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast and Odesa Oblast. Ukrainian air defence destroyed or suppressed 227 targets. Two people were killed and eight injured in Kyiv, and damage was reported in multiple regions.
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At UN General Assembly, Zelensky calls Putin 'patient zero' of global war, unveils FREYJA air-defense program, and warns of painful winter for Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the 81st UN General Assembly in New York on September 23, calling Vladimir Putin a "patient zero" spreading war, announcing the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, and disclosing that Russia is using citizens of 47 countries in its war against Ukraine. He detailed Ukrainian strike figures, threatened retaliation against Russian energy infrastructure this winter, and unveiled the FREYJA anti-missile defense program with 10 partner countries. The speech followed a day of high-level diplomacy, including his meeting with US President Donald Trump and a Rubio-Lavrov exchange on a possible energy ceasefire.
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Russia launched 161 drones at Ukraine overnight, including 82 jet-powered Shaheds; 122 targets intercepted
On the night of 23 September 2026, Russia attacked Ukraine with 161 strike drones of various types, including 82 jet-powered Shaheds, Gerbera drones, Parodia decoys and Banderole/Dan-T missiles. Ukrainian air defense shot down or suppressed 122 of the incoming targets by 08:00, but strikes and falling debris hit 26 locations across multiple regions, with casualties reported in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv.