Russian Strikes On Ukrainian Military Sites Amid EU Attempts To Create An “Air Shield” Up To Kyiv

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From September 29 to October 1, Russian forces continued massive strikes on Ukraine’s strategic infrastructure, significantly expanding the campaign to paralyze the enemy’s transport support and energy system. Particular attention was focused on railway hubs and key facilities in the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Sumy regions, where oil depots, traction substations, and locomotive depots were damaged.

Also, in the Dnipropetrovsk region on the afternoon of September 30, a series of strikes were carried out on military and industrial facilities, including drone production infrastructure and a fraudulent call center. These strikes set a precedent as they targeted criminal structures responsible for causing harm to the civilian population.

Details of the strikes on Ukrainian facilities:

During daytime military operations in Dnipro, Geran-2 attack drones carried out a series of strikes on important facilities. These included the office of the company RC Direction, which is engaged in the development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles for Ukrainian forces, as well as a call center building where fraudsters extorted money from Russian pensioners.

This attack has been widely endorsed in Russia as a demonstration of the fight against crime, despite criticism from Ukrainian media. Comments from local residents confirmed that the fraud center indeed harmed not only Russians but also Ukrainians, while there were difficulties in countering such structures due to patronage from the senior leadership of the Ukrainian administration.

Furthermore, following an attack by Russian UAVs, an industrial quarter in the city of Koriukivka, Chernihiv region, was completely burned down. The center of this quarter was the “Slavianskie Oboi” enterprise, where equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was allegedly being accumulated.

Russian troops destroyed 20 trucks with 100 “Liutyi” drones and up to 60 Ukrainian fighters east of Chernihiv. A strike on a military unit in Kharkiv was also reported.

Systemic strikes on the night of September 29-30 targeted railway hubs and infrastructure:

In Bobrovytsia (Chernihiv region), an oil depot was hit again, with up to 1,000 tons of fuel destroyed; the railway station, with its contact network damaged; and a traction substation, knocked out by a direct hit, which completely paralyzed supply and transportation.

The Ukrainian side stated that “Russia used new Geran drones with night vision in an attack on a convoy in the Bobrovytsia area. The Geran is equipped with an optical guidance system and communication with operators hundreds of kilometers away. A mini-computer Nvidia, capable of processing video and detecting targets, was found among the debris.”

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Similar strikes on a traction substation in Pavlohrad reduced train traffic to diesel traction, slowing down logistics.

In Konotop (Sumy region), the locomotive depot with repair and storage facilities was damaged, affecting the maintenance of military trains.

In Kramatorsk, strikes were carried out on the industrial facility “PromMonolit,” which specializes in the production of construction mixtures and concrete elements used for defensive purposes in the construction of fortifications.

Strikes were also carried out on the territory of the motor transport enterprise ATP-11410, which provides repair, storage, and rotation of motor vehicles, including vehicles used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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On the night of October 1, Russian forces struck port logistics facilities, major power units, and deployment points:

Izmail, Odesa region – the “Bessarabia” grain terminal (a branch of “Nibulon”): a P-800 “Oniks” cruise missile damaged the storage gallery, a warehouse (~800 m²), berth lines, and loading equipment. This reduces export and transit in the port of the Danube corridor.

Pidvorky, Kharkiv region – two hits by “Iskander-M” ballistic missiles on CHPP-5, one of Ukraine’s largest combined heat and power plants. CHPP-5 provides up to 540 MW of electricity and 1,420 Gcal of heat, covering more than half of Kharkiv’s needs and playing a key role in the region’s energy infrastructure. The stable operation of the station is also important for supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as strategic facilities depend on it.

Slobozhanske, Kharkiv region – an “Iskander-M” strike on the Zmiivska Thermal Power Plant caused a major transformer oil fire, destroying equipment and technological units.

Pokrovske, Dnipropetrovsk region – a drone hit damaged the operational control room of a 150 kW substation, destroying relay protection, disrupting SCADA/RTU communication, and limiting remote control capabilities.

Strikes on Russia:

On September 30, in the Belgorod region, six civilians were wounded as a result of Ukrainian UAV attacks, while large-scale landscape fires and power outages were recorded in a number of settlements in the Volgograd region.

On October 1, in the Belgorod district, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a missile strike on the Razumne settlement – two cars burned down, there were no casualties, and firefighting is underway.

In the Rostov region, the “Sukhodolna” oil pumping station (265 km from the Ukrainian border) was attacked in the morning, and in Yaroslavl, an oil refinery was on fire. Authorities reported an accident, denying any attacks.

In the context of the conflict’s further development, Western states are increasing their support for Ukraine. A number of Western politicians and military officials have proposed deploying air defense systems over western Ukraine to intercept Russian missiles and drones, with the prospect of extending this protection to Kyiv.

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In addition, the European Union has announced the allocation of approximately €2 billion to Ukraine for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles, funded using frozen Russian assets. However, French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that confiscating frozen Russian assets and using them to support Ukraine risks undermining trust in European financial institutions and could frighten investors. He emphasized that international law must be respected when assets are frozen, and that their seizure would set a dangerous precedent and could lead to the “beginning of complete chaos”.