19‑hour Russian drone barrage batters western Ukraine and Odesa as Polish border towns sound sirens
Russia has kept a large‑scale Geran‑2 drone assault going against western Ukraine for at least 19 hours, with blasts reported across multiple cities and new strikes on Odesa, while air‑raid sirens sounded in parts of eastern Poland.
Russian drone attacks have kept parts of western Ukraine under fire for at least 19 hours, disrupting rail links, igniting warehouse and terminal fires, and setting off air‑raid sirens across the border in eastern Poland.
By 03:08 UTC on 13 September, Russia’s large‑scale Geran‑2 drone attack on western Ukraine was still under way, with explosions reported in Zdolbuniv in Rivne Oblast, Brody and Stryi in Lviv Oblast, Khmelnytskyi City, and Odesa City. A fire was seen burning in Khmelnytskyi after a new round of Russian Geran‑2 strikes, indicating that drones were hitting urban targets in western Ukraine rather than only probing air defenses.
The same overnight period brought strikes around the capital. Russia attacked various parts of Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast with drones. In the city of Fastiv, the railway station came under attack, sparking a fire and causing several‑hour delays for trains in the area. In the cities of Brovary and Boryspil, warehouse facilities were struck once again, resulting in fires and adding to a pattern of repeated hits on storage sites.
Odesa region also came under heavier fire. One target in Odesa Oblast was a Nova Poshta terminal in the town of Nerubais'ke, hit in an overnight attack that involved Geran‑4 jet‑powered drones and S8000 Banderol cruise missiles. Strikes on the private delivery network’s facilities point to a continued focus on logistics and commercial infrastructure that support both civilians and the military.
The broader Geran‑2 campaign has left residents of western cities who once felt relatively removed from the front spending extended periods under air‑raid alerts and facing disrupted transport and logistics. The attack on Fastiv’s railway station, in particular, interfered with passenger and freight movements for hours.
The effects were felt beyond Ukraine’s borders. Around 25 minutes before 03:08 UTC, air‑raid sirens sounded in parts of eastern Poland — including the towns of Łęczna, Włodawa, Świdnik, Krasnystaw, and Chełm — as the Russian drone wave moved across western Ukraine. Initial reports did not confirm any drones crossing into Polish airspace, but the alarms underscored how close the campaign runs to the frontier.
For Ukraine’s war effort, the focus on rail hubs, warehouses, and delivery terminals has clear implications. These sites move fuel, ammunition, and civilian supplies from western entry points toward the front, and repeated strikes are likely aimed at slowing those flows and forcing Ukraine to divert scarce air‑defense systems to the rear.
What happens next will depend in part on how much damage Ukrainian authorities confirm at rail nodes, warehouses, and the Odesa‑area logistics terminal, and whether Poland reports any debris or airspace violations tied to this wave. Any decision by Ukraine or its partners to reinforce air defenses in the west, or to further harden key logistics hubs, would show how they judge the threat from sustained long‑range drone attacks deep in the rear.
Sources
- OSINT