In the early hours of 17 September, Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on Ukraine, targeting multiple regions with Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Ukrainian Air Force reported that a total of 51 attack drones were detected and tracked from the directions of Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, and Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea. The assault injured at least one civilian in Konotop and damaged the power grid in Sumy City.
Russia continues to carry out daily air attacks on residential areas in an attempt to terrorize civilians and damage civilian infrastructure. These attacks often involve launching dozens of Shahed long-range “kamikaze” drones and firing multiple missiles. The goal is to cripple Ukraine’s power grid and strain its air defense resources.
Fortunately, Ukrainian air defense systems, including combat aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units, were able to successfully intercept and destroy 34 attack drones, according to the Air Force. Additionally, 12 drones were “locationally lost” (crashed) in several regions of Ukraine due to active countermeasures by the Defense Forces’ electronic warfare systems. Two more enemy attack drones returned to Russia, indicating that only two Shaheds reached their targets.
The Air Force reported that air defense systems were active in Mykolaiv, Kherson, Sumy, Poltava, and Kharkiv oblasts. The attack lasted from 19:00 to 06:00.
Sumy Oblast was hit the hardest, with the regional capital Sumy experiencing a “massive air strike” by Shahed drones, according to authorities. Around 10 explosions were heard in the city starting from 23:20. As a result, Sumy lost electricity, causing water to be supplied at reduced pressure. Trolleybuses were unable to operate due to the power outage. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported from the night attack.
Artem Kobzar, the acting mayor of Sumy, confirmed significant damage to the energy infrastructure. As of 07:00 on 17 September, 281,072 consumers in Sumy Oblast were temporarily without electricity, according to Sumyoblenergo. This affected consumers in Sumy, as well as the Sumy, Konotop, and Okhtyrka district power grids, along with several other local areas.
Critical infrastructure facilities, including water utilities and hospitals, were switched to backup power systems. Restoration work is currently underway. The Sumy Regional Military Administration reported that air defense forces shot down 16 Shahed drones over the region’s territory.
Hours before the attack on Sumy, Russian forces struck the city of Konotop in Sumy Oblast with a Shahed drone late on 16 September. Konotop Mayor Artem Semenikhin reported one person injured as a result of this attack.
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