Russia Fired 2,000 Drones and 19 Missiles This Week, Zelensky Says

Russian forces launched more than 2,000 strike drones, 1,700 guided aerial bombs, and 19 missiles of various types against Ukraine over the past week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, Sept. 20. Writing on Facebook, Zelensky noted that the majority of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) deployed by Russia in the weekly barrage were turbojet-powered variants, which travel at higher speeds and present increased challenges for ground-based air defenses.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The president reported that Russian strikes systematically targeted civilian and critical infrastructure across the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Odesa regions over recent days, while residential buildings sustained hits in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia. He added that aerial bombardments overnight and into Sunday morning also affected the Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Cherkasy regions. “Ukraine is constantly looking for and finding ways to defend itself and respond to these strikes against life,” Zelensky stated. “It is important that our partners also seek and find ways to make Russia feel its war. Right now is the right moment to take new sanctions steps against the aggressor and press for peace through strength. The US, Europe, and all G7 nations have the corresponding capabilities. We count on new, strong steps.” Monastery drone attack and rail hits in Vinnytsia Zelensky highlighted a targeted tactical drone strike in the Kherson region on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 19, where a Russian first-person view (FPV) drone struck an active male monastery in the village of Chervonyi Mayak within the Novoraisk community. Other Topics of Interest Russia Claims Cyberattacks Targeted Parliamentary Election Online Voting System Russian officials claimed a massive cyberattack targeted Moscow’s electronic voting system during three-day parliamentary elections condemned by Ukraine. According to Kherson Regional Military Administration Head Oleksandr Prokudin, the drone impact killed a 71-year-old priest and injured four other clergymen aged 31, 51, 51, and 53, all of whom sustained blast and shrapnel trauma while on the monastery grounds. In the Vinnytsia region, Russian attack drones struck a railway infrastructure facility on Sunday, Sept. 20, the State Emergency Service (SES) reported. Firefighting teams contained and extinguished the blaze, with regional authorities confirming no casualties. The Ukrainian Air Force announced that Russian forces launched 138 unmanned aerial vehicles overnight from four launch vectors, deploying Shahed-type loitering munitions, Gerbera drones, and Parodiya decoys. Air defense units shot down or electronically suppressed 101 drones nationwide, while munitions impacts were recorded across 17 locations and falling debris was confirmed at five sites. Deadly residential strikes in Kyiv region and Dnipro The weekly tally and Sunday overnight raids follow Russian strikes targeting civilian residential infrastructure across central Ukraine late Saturday evening, Sept. 19. In the Fastiv district of the Kyiv region, a Russian strike hit a private residence, killing a mother and her young children. According to preliminary findings by the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the woman had brought her children inside to put them to bed when the explosion occurred, collapsing the home’s ceilings and sparking a fire. Concurrently on Saturday evening, Russian fire struck the Novyi Kontynent shopping center in the city of Dnipro, triggering a major commercial fire and injuring at least four civilians. Emergency responders worked through the night to clear burning debris and inspect adjacent residential structures for structural damage. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.