Ukraine War Update: Russia Advances, Ukraine Reports Downed Drones

On the night of September 15-16, Russia launched 84 unmanned aerial vehicles (mainly of the Shahed type) and 3 S-300 missiles at Ukraine. Ukrainian air defense, according to official Kyiv sources, destroyed 59 drones. The attacks were concentrated in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson, Odesa, Dnipro, and Chernihiv regions.

The most heavily hit were Kramatorsk, Yarova, Nizhyn, and the border villages of Sumy. Residential buildings, agricultural facilities, and infrastructure were damaged. Civilian casualties in the last 24 hours amounted to at least 5 killed and 56 wounded, including children, mainly in Donetsk and Sumy.

In ground operations, Russian troops continued to build on their successes in several directions. Advances were made in the direction of Velykyi Burluk (Kharkiv), where new positions were captured. In Zaporizhzhia, the village of Olhivske was captured, with advances towards Novoivanivka and Berezove. In the Pokrovsk direction, the positions of Ternove and Novopavlivka were captured.

The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces in the last 24 hours, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, amounted to 1,435 soldiers, 2 tanks, 2 armored vehicles, 35 artillery pieces, and 323 drones.