# Russian mixed missile and drone barrage hits central Ukraine, sets Dnipro ablaze and strikes near Kremenchuk

*Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 2:05 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-09-22T02:05:43.523Z (2h ago)
**Category**: conflict | **Region**: Eastern Europe
**Importance**: 9/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/18497.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: Russia has launched a large combined missile and drone attack across Ukraine, using Zircon hypersonic and Oniks‑M supersonic cruise missiles alongside other cruise and ballistic systems. Missiles and drones struck cities including Kremenchuk and Dnipro, where a large fire is burning, and landed near Reshetylivka in Poltava Oblast.

Russia has launched a large mixed missile and drone strike across Ukraine, hitting central cities and triggering major fires as Ukrainian defenses track one of the more complex salvos of the war.

According to preliminary Ukrainian tracking, Russian forces in the early hours of 22 September fired about 28 missiles and several drones at multiple cities. The reported package includes around 11 Oniks‑M supersonic cruise missiles and 6 Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, along with roughly 5 Kalibr cruise missiles, 4 KN‑23 ballistic missiles, and 2 Iskander‑M ballistic missiles. Around 8 S8000 Banderol cruise missiles were also reported targeting Kremenchuk, a central Ukrainian city repeatedly struck since the invasion began.

Missiles were observed over Sumy Oblast, with some described as possibly Oniks cruise missiles flying past the region toward Kremenchuk. One Oniks‑M cruise missile was reported to have impacted in Kremenchuk itself.

Other munitions passed near Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast. One object initially thought to be a missile, possibly a Zircon, later disappeared from tracking and was assessed as likely being a Russian S‑300 air defense missile rather than part of the strike.

Further south, impacts were recorded near Reshetylivka in Poltava Oblast, about 75 kilometers from Kremenchuk. An explosion was heard from Kremenchuk after one of these impacts, indicating the strike wave was moving through central Ukraine and close to populated areas.

Dnipro, a major industrial hub on the Dnipro River, suffered several missile and drone strikes. A large fire is burning in the city following these impacts, suggesting significant damage to at least one target. There was no immediate information on casualties in Dnipro or other hit locations.

The pattern of launches points to a coordinated use of different missile classes. Zircon is described as a hypersonic cruise missile designed to travel at extremely high speed, while Oniks‑M is a modernized supersonic cruise missile. Kalibr is a subsonic cruise missile type used extensively throughout the war. KN‑23 and Iskander‑M are short‑range ballistic missiles, fired on high‑speed trajectories that are harder to intercept.

Using these systems together allows Russian planners to send weapons along different flight paths and at different speeds, complicating Ukraine’s air defense challenge. Ukrainian operators must distinguish incoming cruise and ballistic missiles from their own and Russian air defense munitions, as illustrated by the reassessment of one radar track near Okhtyrka as a likely S‑300.

Signals to watch in the coming hours will be Ukrainian damage assessments from Kremenchuk, Dnipro, and Reshetylivka, any confirmation of the number and types of missiles intercepted, and whether follow‑on strikes repeat the same mix of Zircon, Oniks‑M, Kalibr, KN‑23, and Iskander‑M.