In the night of September 28, russia launched one of its largest combined air assaults against Ukraine, using waves of drones and missiles in an attempt to overwhelm the country's air defenses. The attack began around 20:30 on September 27 and continued deep into the night, with air raid alerts sounding across multiple regions.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, radar units tracked an unprecedented 643 hostile aerial objects. The assault included 593 strike drones of the Sahahed, Geran, and other types launched from Kursk, Bryansk, Millerovo, Orel, Shatalovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in russia, as well as temporarily occupied Chauda and Kacha in Crimea.
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In addition, russia used two Banderol jet-powered drones, two Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, 38 Kh-101 cruise missiles from Saratov region, and eight Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea.
The main target of the attack was the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The city's air defenses, already battle-hardened from repeated assaults, were once again forced to repel an intense barrage of drones and missiles designed to saturate and break through protective systems.
Ukraine's response involved a layered defense. Aviation units, surface-to-air missile systems, electronic warfare teams, mobile fire groups, and drone operators all worked in coordination to intercept the incoming barrage. This multi-domain defense strategy proved crucial in countering the scale of the assault.
By 10:30 in the morning, preliminary reports confirmed that Ukrainian forces had destroyed or neutralized 611 aerial targets. These included 566 strike drones, two Banderol drones, 35 Kh-101 cruise missiles, and all eight Kalibr missiles. Despite the overwhelming number of threats, Ukraine's air defense network achieved one of its highest interception rates to date.
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