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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Ukrainian drones strike Russian naval base and fuel-oil terminal in Novorossiysk
In the night of September 8–9, 2026, Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian naval base and the Novorossiysk Mazut Terminal in Krasnodar Krai. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed the strike on the base and reported fires on its territory and at the seaport's fuel-oil terminal, as well as explosions in ship basing areas. Mayor of Novorossiysk Andriy Kravchenko confirmed drone debris fell on enterprise territories and near a residential building; the governor of Krasnodar Krai later reported 4 killed and 29 injured.
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Ukraine strikes Russian naval base in Novorossiysk and multiple targets in occupied Crimea and Donbas
On 8 September and overnight into 9 September 2026, Ukraine's Defense Forces struck a series of Russian military targets, including the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk where the Kalibr-carrying frigate 'Admiral Essen' was hit. Other strikes hit a patrol boat in occupied Sevastopol, electronic-intelligence and command-and-measurement antennas in Crimea, and drone storage and ammunition depots in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Ukrainian officials and OSINT channels reported the damage; the mayor of Novorossiysk acknowledged a fire but attributed it to falling debris.
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At virtual Ramstein meeting, Germany announces Patriot interceptors and 'City Dome' shield for Ukraine
At the 36th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on 8 September, held virtually, Germany announced the urgent transfer of PAC-2 Patriot interceptors and additional AIM-9 missiles from Bundeswehr stocks, launched the 'City Dome' project to shield Ukrainian cities from drone and missile strikes, and committed to financing tens of thousands of long-range artillery shells. The UK pledged £100 million through PURL for air defense, the EU approved financing for 3.2 billion euros of Patriot missiles, and Ukraine outlined plans to contract around 1,000 Patriot missiles and several thousand additional IRIS-T missiles with partner support. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said civilian deaths in Ukraine are at their highest since May 2022 and warned that delays cost lives.
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Russia hits Kyiv with massive missile and drone attack hours after Trump envoys leave
Russia launched a combined missile and drone assault on Kyiv overnight on September 7–8, striking the capital with ballistic and cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and 166 strike drones. At least two people were killed, more than 50 civilian objects were damaged across multiple districts, and air defenses downed 175 of the incoming targets. The attack came shortly after US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner left the city following talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Ukraine's military intelligence chief says Russia has resources to wage war through 2027–2028
Head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Oleh Ivashchenko, said in an interview with Ukrinform that Russia is using mercenaries from more than 40 countries and still has enough resources to continue the war through 2027 and 2028, despite a weakened economy, exhausted contract recruitment, and public opposition of more than 60%. He called for sanctions that genuinely work and for international cooperation to cut off supplies of electronics, machinery, and chemicals reaching Russia through intermediary companies.
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Ukraine kills Oleh Shutov in Donetsk, suspect in 2017 assassinations of Ukrainian officers
Ukrainian special services eliminated Oleh Shutov in occupied Donetsk on 27 July by detonating an improvised explosive device in his Subaru at the Dynamo sports complex, according to Ukrainian reports. Shutov, an operative of the so-called 'MGB DPR' and president of the 'DPR' judo and sambo association, was publicly named by former SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak in 2019 as the direct perpetrator of the 2017 car-bomb assassination of Ukrainian military intelligence Major General Maksym Shapoval, and was also linked to the 2017 killing of SBU Colonel Oleksandr Kharaberush in Mariupol.
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SBU detains artillery brigadier in Mykolaiv accused of guiding Russian strikes for FSB
Ukraine's SBU detained a servicemember of an artillery brigade in Mykolaiv Oblast on suspicion of working for Russia's FSB. Investigators say the man was recruited via Telegram while AWOL, returned to his unit to spy, and directed strikes on Ukrainian Defense Forces positions in Mykolaiv and Odesa oblasts. He faces life imprisonment on state treason charges.
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ATESH says it destroyed communications tower near Perm ahead of Ukrainian strike on LUKOIL refinery
The ATESH partisan movement reported that its agents destroyed a communications tower in the Perm area of Perm Krai, Russia, shortly before Ukrainian drones struck the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery on August 21. ATESH said the tower served as a backup channel for coordination between the facility's security and Russian military units covering it, and that the sabotage was carried out by a Russian serviceman who had gone AWOL and later joined ATESH.
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Ukraine reports 245 combat clashes; Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka directions under heaviest pressure
Ukraine's General Staff reported 245 combat clashes on the front line over the past day, the 1656th day of Russia's full-scale armed aggression. The Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka directions together accounted for 60 of those clashes. The General Staff also reported Russian personnel losses of 1,390 over the same period.
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Ukrainian drones strike Ryazan oil refinery and Rostov airfield overnight
On the night of September 6, 2026, Ukrainian drones attacked targets in Russia's Ryazan and Rostov oblasts. Ukraine's General Staff said the Defense Forces struck the Ryazan Oil Refinery, the Rostov-on-Don airfield, a Podlyot radar station, and two Pantsir-S1 air-defense systems, with the refinery hit using an FP-1 drone produced by Fire Point. Russian officials acknowledged a drone attack and a fire at an unnamed enterprise in Ryazan, but did not officially confirm damage to the refinery.
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Russia strikes Kyiv and Boryspil airports as US envoys prepare to visit
In the night of September 4–5, Russia launched drone strikes across at least eight Ukrainian regions, with President Zelensky saying the attacks deliberately and for the first time in a long time targeted the Kyiv (Zhuliany) and Boryspil airports. Zelensky linked the airport strikes to discussions about the upcoming visit by US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. A drone hit a nine-story residential building in Boryspil, injuring two women, and a strike on an industrial enterprise in Kamianske killed and wounded civilians. Zelensky announced Ukraine would adjust its operations regarding Russian airspace the following week.
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Russia strikes Ukraine overnight with 167 drones and missiles; passenger train attacked near Kherson
On September 5, Russia launched an overnight attack on Ukraine using ballistic missiles and 167 drones, about half of them jet-powered. Around midday the same day, Russian forces struck a passenger train heading to Kherson with several Shahed-type drones, injuring two people and damaging two diesel locomotives. The overnight attack was the largest in a series of escalating strikes hitting civilian infrastructure.
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Russia hits Ukraine with ballistic missiles and 167 drones overnight; air defence downs 128 UAVs
Russia struck Ukraine overnight on 4–5 September with Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 167 strike and decoy drones launched from multiple Russian and occupied- Crimean sites. As of 08:30 on 5 September, Ukrainian air defence had downed or suppressed 128 drones. Hits were recorded at 23 locations, with casualties reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and Mykolaiv oblasts.
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Ukrainian forces strike Russian radar, EW and drone-coordination targets in Bryansk and Luhansk oblasts
On 4 September 2026, Ukrainian Defence Forces struck several Russian military targets, including a radar station, an electronic warfare complex, a mesh-network repeater used to coordinate drone attacks, and a unit repair base. The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed the strikes on 5 September and said the extent of the damage was being clarified.
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Ukrainian drones hit Sochi air-defence site and oil depot overnight, sparking fuel shortages
On the night of September 4, Ukrainian drones struck a Russian air-defence position near the Sirius settlement close to Sochi and an oil depot in the city's Adler district, according to Ukrainian and independent OSINT reporting. Fires burned at both locations and a column of flame was seen from kilometres away. Sochi airport introduced temporary aircraft and refueling restrictions, and the city administration urged residents and tourists to use public transport as gasoline was being sold at only about two-thirds of municipal filling stations.
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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.
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Russian drone strike on marshrutka in central Kherson kills one, wounds more than a dozen
On 4 September, a Russian drone struck a marshrutka (route taxi) and a public transport stop in the Central district of Kherson, killing a 47-year-old man in hospital and wounding multiple civilians. By 14:57 that afternoon the toll from the marshrutka strike alone had climbed to 12 wounded, part of a day of strikes across Kherson Oblast reported by Ukrainian officials.
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Russian drone strikes SBU headquarters in central Kyiv, hits building opposite Saint Sophia Cathedral
On September 4, a Russian drone struck the central building of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Volodymyrska Street in central Kyiv, opposite Saint Sophia Cathedral. A fire broke out and part of the floor structure and outer wall were destroyed. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone was directed at the office of acting SBU head Oleksandr Poklad, who was not in the building at the time, and ordered preparation of an adequate, tangible, and where possible mirror response.
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Ukrainian lawmaker registers bill on state protection for wartime Stavka and RNBO members
A bill has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada providing state protection for members of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff and the National Security and Defense Council who exercised their powers during wartime. The initiative, authored by Roman Kostenko, also proposes lifetime protection for the wartime president and would expand the State Protection Directorate's authorized headcount.
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SBU detains Kharkiv couple suspected of spying for Russian military intelligence
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) detained a married couple in Kharkiv on suspicion of transmitting information about Ukrainian forces, defensive positions, and energy infrastructure to Russian military intelligence (GRU). The husband, a mobilized soldier in a Territorial Defense brigade, allegedly tracked air defense, electronic warfare and fortifications in Kharkiv and marked power facilities on Google Maps, while his civilian wife reportedly gathered information on Ukrainian troop locations and eventually reported directly to a Russian handler. Both face state-treason charges under martial law and are in custody without bail.