In the early hours of September 30, Ukraine’s air defence forces successfully intercepted and destroyed the majority of a large-scale Russian air attack involving missiles and drones. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that three missiles and 73 Shahed drones were launched by Russian forces, with 67 drones and one missile being shot down over multiple regions across the country.

The attack targeted Kyiv and several other oblasts, including Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv. Despite the intensity of the assault, Ukrainian C-UAS defences managed to neutralise most of the drones before they could cause widespread damage.

C-UAS defence efforts

According to a statement by the Ukrainian Air Force, anti-aircraft missile troops, aircraft, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups worked together to repel the attack. One of the intercepted missiles was identified as a Kh-59/69 guided missile.

The air defence forces acted swiftly to down the Shahed UAVs, which had been launched from the Russian cities of Kursk, Yeysk and Orel. The Russian forces also launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile from occupied Crimea, and a Kh-31P anti-aircraft missile from over the Black Sea.

Despite the success, a small number of drones remain unaccounted for. One Shahed flew towards Belarus, three disappeared from radar over northern Ukraine, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, and one UAV was still in Ukrainian airspace at the time of the report, with ongoing combat efforts to bring it down.

The attack caused air raid warnings across the country, with Kyiv, in particular, issuing alerts throughout the night. All Shahed drones aimed at the capital were successfully intercepted, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.

While most drones were intercepted, some managed to inflict damage. In Sumy Oblast, defence forces successfully downed eight Shahed drones. Meanwhile, in Mykolaiv Oblast, a drone strike sparked a fire at a critical infrastructure facility in the Bashtanka district.

Post Image Credit: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine