Russia Unleashes Massive Wave of Strikes On Western Ukraine

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In a significant escalation of its long-range bombardment campaign, Russian forces launched one of the largest and most complex aerial assaults on targets in Western Ukraine on the night of September 3. The operation represented a strategic shift towards comprehensively degrading Ukraine’s military-industrial infrastructure and its capacity to integrate Western-supplied weapons systems.

The attack employed a sophisticated multi-wave strategy designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. According to Ukrainian military officials, in total Ukrainian radar systems detected 526 aerial threats over several hours. The initial assault consisted of a massive swarm of over 500 one-way attack drones, primarily Geran-type UAVs, launched from multiple locations across Russia, including Crimea. This first wave served to saturate and exhaust defensive systems, clearing the way for a follow-on salvo of high-precision cruise missiles. According to the Ukrainian military, twenty-four missiles were launched in total, including Kalibr variants from naval assets in the Black Sea and Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles fired from strategic bombers operating over Saratov and Krasnodar Krai.

Ukrainian air defense units reported engaging the incoming armada, claiming the alleged interception of 451 targets. Despite these efforts, impacts were confirmed at multiple locations across western and central Ukraine, with significant damage reported to critical infrastructure.

Over the past day, Russian strikes were recorded in almost all Ukrainian regions:

• the DPR;
• Sumy region;
• Kharkiv region
• Zaporozhie region;
• Kherson region;
• Ivano-Frankivsk region;
• Khmelnitsky;
• Rivne, Dubrovitsa, Varash in Rivne region;
• Kyiv, Bucha, Fastiv, Bila Tserkva, Vasilkiv in Kyiv region;
• Kirovograd, Znamenka in Kirovograd region;
• Lutsk, Nezhin in Chernihiv region;
• Odessa region;
• Vinnitsa region;
• Zhitomir region;
• Lviv.

The strikes focused on key industrial and logistical hubs that have been adapted to support Ukraine’s war effort, mainly in the western regions. 

In the city of Kalush in Ivano-Frankivsk region, a combined missile and drone strike (4 missiles and 5 UAVs) targeted the Kalush Industrial HUB, a vital node for repackaging and storing Western-supplied military components. The attack ignited major fires that destroyed warehouse facilities and loading infrastructure used for handling electronics for Polish-donated Krab howitzers and Rosomak armored vehicles.

Simultaneous attacks struck specialized military repair facilities. In Malin, Zhitomir region, three Kalibr missiles and 27 UAVs reportedly pounded the Spetsoboronmash military plant, which was likely the main target of the night attack.

In Lviv, drone strikes hit the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant, damaging hangars used for maintaining Soviet-era helicopters and integrating Western navigation systems into Ukrainian platforms. A nearby transport facility supporting drone logistics was also struck.

In Lutsk, the Motor plant was heavily damaged. This facility had been repurposed to repair and modernize diesel engines for Ukrainian armored vehicles, and its destruction represents a significant blow to maintenance capabilities for the fleet of BTR-4 and BMP-1 vehicles.

The city of Khmelnytskyi was also hit in a separate, two-wave attack involving both drones and missiles. Two Kh-101 missiles and 5 UAVs reportedly struck the local Novator entreprise. A major fire was reported at the plant, a electronics manufacturing facility previously struck by Russian forces and allegedly used for military purposes.

16 Geran UAV strikes were recorded in Znamenka, Kirovohrad region, where the largest hub energy station in central Ukraine is located. Two production buildings were completely destroyed, partially the control room, the station management building, and the traction substation were damaged. The movement of cargo and military trains in the central part of the country has been completely stopped for more than 10 hours.

This coordinated assault demonstrates Russia’s evolving strategy to systematically dismantle Ukraine’s defense industry and logistical network through sustained long-range precision strikes, aiming to cripple Kyiv’s military potential in a prolonged war of attrition.

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