LONDON — Ukraine reported a 38% spike in mixed Russian drone and missile assaults by September when put next with August, air power knowledge analyzed by ABC Information confirmed, as Moscow intensified its nightly long-range barrages throughout the nation.
Ukraine’s air power mentioned Russia launched a complete of 5,636 drones and 187 missiles into the nation by September. That meant a roughly 39% improve within the variety of drones and a virtually 20% improve within the variety of missiles versus August.
The air power reported a day by day common of almost 188 Russian drones and simply over six Russian missiles in September. Defenders downed or suppressed nearly 87% of all Russian drones and over 68% of Russian missiles by the month — charges roughly comparable with earlier months.
Up to now, July 2025 was the busiest month for Ukrainian defenders, who confronted 6,443 drones and missiles throughout the course of the month, per air power knowledge.
August represented considerably of a lull in Russian strikes. It was the primary month since April that noticed a lesser variety of strikes than the previous month.
This photograph reveals an explosion of a missile within the sky over the town throughout a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 28, 2025.
Vladyslav Sodel/Reuters
The long-range strikes are contributing to mounting civilian casualties throughout Ukraine within the fourth yr of Russia’s full-scale invasion, in accordance with the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The mission mentioned in an announcement final month that early September noticed an intensification of such assaults.
On the night time of Sept. 6-7, for instance, Russia launched the biggest air assault of the battle to this point, when 810 drones and 13 missiles have been fired into Ukraine. A minimum of 5 civilians have been killed and 41 injured throughout six Ukrainian areas plus the capital Kyiv.
Different main strikes got here on the night time of Sept. 19-20. when Russia launched a complete of 619 munitions, and on the night time of Sept. 27-28. when Russia launched 643 munitions.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine publish knowledge detailing the size of their very own strike campaigns. Ukraine’s air power publishes a day by day tally of Russian drone and missile strikes, whereas Russia’s Protection Ministry solely publishes figures of Ukrainian drones shot down.
The figures don’t embrace the much more frequent use of “first individual view” drones — commercial-style quadcopters repurposed into explosive one-way assault drones — that now dominate the entrance traces.
A Russian drone flies over Kyiv, Ukraine, as Ukrainian servicemen fireplace in the direction of it on Sept. 28, 2025.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
Each Russian and Ukrainian forces additionally use these shorter-range weapons to assault in populated areas simply behind the entrance traces. Longer-range drones are additionally routinely used to strike cities and cities near the entrance.
The U.N. mission to Ukraine mentioned final month that 72% of all civilian casualties recorded in August occurred close to the frontline — primarily within the jap Donetsk and southern Kherson areas.
The longer-range craft embrace the a number of Russian-engineered variants of the Iranian-designed Shahed drone. Russia refers to that household of drones because the Gerans, newer variations of that are jet powered.
Additionally included are smaller Gerbera drones that are largely used as decoys to distract air defenses, however which might additionally carry explosives.
Russia frames its long-range assaults as concentrating on navy and industrial targets. However Russian munitions routinely hit civilian buildings and inflict civilian casualties.
Final month, Russian drones additionally twice crossed into NATO airspace, prompting allied plane to shoot down a number of over Polish territory.
This photograph reveals destroyed residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 28, 2025 following a Russian air assault.
Roman Pilipey/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
Although Russian craft have repeatedly violated NATO airspace throughout its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the shootdowns over Poland represented the primary time NATO had shot down Russian drones. A minimum of one drone additionally crossed into Romania in September, however was not shot down.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sept. 28 known as Moscow’s continued strikes “vile and cowardly,” citing them as proof that the Kremlin has no real curiosity in peace talks.
“That is exactly how Russia reveals its true place, Zelenskyy wrote. “Moscow needs to maintain preventing and killing and deserves solely the harshest stress on the earth.” Such punishment, Zelenskyy has mentioned, will come at the very least partly within the type of extra Ukrainian long-range strikes into Russia.
Ukraine continued that long-range marketing campaign in September, with Kyiv reporting a sustained deal with Russian power infrastructure.
Russia’s Protection Ministry reported downing a complete of two,788 long-range Ukrainian drones throughout September, at a mean of slightly below 93 per day. This marked a slight improve on figures from August, throughout which era Moscow claimed to have downed 2,786 Ukrainian drones at a mean price of almost 90 per day.
Protection Ministry figures counsel that Might 2025 noticed a highwater mark for Ukrainian drone assaults, with Moscow claiming to have shot down 3,611 craft at a mean price of 116 per day.
