Ukraine Rocked by Overnight Barrage of Missiles, Drones – Poland Scrambles Warplanes

Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine overnight with missiles and drones, striking several regions and damaging homes and railway facilities. Poland scrambled its own and allied aircraft in response to the strikes, officials said Wednesday, Sept. 3.

The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) said its air defense system tracked 526 aerial targets on radar during the attack, which began on the evening of Sept. 2 and lasted into early Sept. 3. In an official Telegram post, the UAF said the total included 502 Shahed drones and decoys, launched from Russian territory and occupied Crimea, as well as 16 Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea and eight Kh-101 cruise missiles from strategic bombers over Saratov and Krasnodar regions.

By 9 a.m. (0600 UTC), Ukraine’s air defenses reported downing or disabling 451 targets – including 430 drones, 14 Kalibr missiles, and seven Kh-101s. At least three missiles and 69 drones hit targets across 14 locations, while debris from intercepted weapons also caused damage.

Explosions were reported in the Khmelnytsky, Kirovohrad, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kyiv regions. The UAF said cruise missiles were still in the country’s airspace and flying west early Wednesday morning.

In the city of Khmelnytsky, Mayor Oleksandr Symchyshyn said air defenses were active and reported fires and broken windows in homes. No casualties were immediately reported.

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In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, rescuers were battling a massive fire that broke out after a Russian strike, officials said. Warehouse buildings caught fire in three locations covering about 9,000 square meters. The blaze was contained, but firefighting efforts were continuing.

In Kyiv, a drone crashed in the Desnianskyi district, damaging a car and nearby apartment buildings. The wreckage caused a fire, but officials said no one was injured. The nearby town of Vyshhorod also came under attack.

In the Kirovohrad region, drones hit the Znamyanka community, including a railway facility, according to regional governor Andriy Raikovych. Fires broke out in homes, injuring five people. Twenty-eight houses were damaged and one was destroyed.

Ukraine’s state railway company said four workers were also injured in the attack on its infrastructure. They were hospitalized in stable condition. The damage may delay more than two dozen trains, the company said.

Poland’s Armed Forces said it scrambled its ground alert status fighters, along with other allied aircraft, as a precaution. Ground air defenses and radar systems were also put on elevated alert status.

In western Ukraine, explosions were reported in Lviv around 3 a.m. (0000 UTC), Mayor Andriy Sadovy said. In Lutsk, drones were shot down, according to Mayor Ihor Polishchuk.

The strike came after several heavy Russian attacks last week. On Aug. 28, missiles and drones hit Kyiv, killing 25 people, including four children, and damaging civilian residential and diplomatic buildings.

The barrage marked the heaviest strike on Kyiv since July 31. The first three weeks of August had been relatively calm, with fewer large-scale missile assaults on the capital compared to previous months.

On Aug. 30, Russia struck Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Pavlohrad, leaving one person dead and 24 injured. On Aug. 31, drones hit power facilities in Chornomorsk, Odesa region, cutting electricity for nearly 30,000 people and injuring one.