Ukraine repels Russia’s massive nighttime attack involving 78 drones as Belarus downs several UAVs in its airspace

Russia launched 78 Shahed drones and one Iskander-M missile at Ukraine. Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted 60 drones across 12 oblasts, while other drones crashed, and some returned to Russia and Belarus.

Sep 5, 2024 - 11:00

Ukraine repels Russia’s massive nighttime attack involving 78 drones as Belarus downs several UAVs in its airspace

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In the early hours of 5 September, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine using 78 Shahed drones and one Iskander-M ballistic missile, as reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The assault originated from multiple locations, including occupied Crimea, and Russia’s Kursk, Yeysk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk areas.

According to the Air Force, Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted 60 of the attacking drones across 12 oblasts, including Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Poltava, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. The air alert in Kyiv City lasted for over nine hours. 15 were “locationally lost” – i.e. disappeared from radars – on the territory of Ukraine “presumably under the influence of electronic warfare,” the report claims.

Another explanation for the lost drones could be that at least some of those were decoys without any payload, simply crashing after running out of fuel. This is supported by photos from recent attacks showing shot-down drones of this type.

The Kyiv Military Administration reported that all drones attempting to attack the capital were destroyed. Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Council, stated that air defenses shot down four Russian Shahed drones over the region during the night.

The Air Force says two drones returned to Russia, while one entered Belarusian airspace.

Russia’s ally Belarus downed up to four Russian drones

The “Belaruski Hayun” monitoring group reported that up to four Shahed drones may have entered Belarus during the night. Videos published by the group’s Telegram channel showed two shootdowns in the Homyel city area. The opposition Belarusian OSINT project stated that Belarus used aviation to shoot down drones that entered its territory.

The number of Shahed drones that breached Belarusian airspace may be three, not four, considering that two Shaheds reportedly turned back to Russia before possibly re-entering Belarus. Homyel Oblast, located at the tripoint where Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine meet, complicates drone tracking. The confusion around a fourth drone might be due to a Belarusian fighter jet missing its target, prompting the Belarusian air force to scramble another aircraft.

The Belarusian Ministry of Defense confirmed the downing of a UAV but did not specify its type, quantity, or direction.

This incident is not isolated, as Russian Shahed drones have previously breached Belarusian airspace or returned to Russia during attacks on Ukraine.

On 26 August, “Belaruski Hayun” reported that at least six Russian drones entered Belarus in one night.
On 29 August, Belarus used aviation for the first time to shoot down a Russian drone that entered its territory.
On 3 September, one Russian drone flew to Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, another to the occupied Donetst Oblast amid a massive missile and drone attack that targeted Kyiv City.

On 9 August, Belarus claimed to have shot down a “Ukrainian” drone, but Belaruski Hayun stated that on that day “no drones (UAVs) were detected during the air sorties of the Armed Forces of Belarus. No missiles were launched from SU-30 fighter aircraft or MI-24 helicopters.”

The deliberate “veering off course” of Russian drones into Belarus may be an attempt by Russia to drag Minsk into the war against Ukraine, as these drones could strike targets in Belarus and be falsely attributed to Ukrainian forces.

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