Early on 21 September, the Russian forces conducted another massive missile attack on Ukraine from the Russian territory, launching 43 air-based cruise missiles. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 36 of those, according to Ukraine’s Air Force Command. According to reports by local authorities, the attack injured at least 21 civilians in Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Kharkiv.
“Overnight into 21 September 2023, at about 3:40 a.m., the Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine with Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 air-launched cruise missiles. A total of 43 cruise missiles were launched from 10 T-95MS strategic aircraft from the area west of Engels [air base in Russia’s Saratov Oblast],” the Air Force reported.
According to the Air Force, Russians launched the missiles in several waves, and those entered the Ukrainian airspace from different directions, constantly changing their course along the route.
Ukraine’s combined air defenses consisting of anti-air missile and gun units, fighter aircraft, mobile fire groups, and “other means of destruction” shot down 36 Kh-series cruise missiles of the launched 43, the Command says.
Air defenses were active in various regions of Ukraine, including the oblasts of Kyiv, Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, and Ivano-Frankivsk.
Also, at around 6:00 a.m., Russia attacked Kharkiv with S-300 anti-aircraft-guided missiles used in their secondary ground attack role.
Kyiv City
The Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv was the primary target of the Russian missile attack. Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko reported that seven Kyiv residents got injuries as debris from the downed missiles crashed on the city. A nine-year-old girl was among the injured, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.
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Later, Klitschko updated that in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, where the missile debris damaged a gas pipe, they also smashed windows in a nearby dormitory, and “doctors hospitalized a 16-year-old girl with an acute stress reaction.”
Kharkiv
According to local authorities, Russia’s morning missile attack on Kharkiv injured two people.
“Today at about 6:00 am, Russians launched six missiles, preliminarily, S-300, at Kharkiv. A production building of a civilian enterprise in Slobodskyi district was damaged, as well as windows in the emergency medical unit, and the road were hit. The inspection of the sites is ongoing,” Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration Head Oleh Syniehubov reported on Telegram.
According to him, the attack injured a 58-year-old man, who was hospitalized, while a 65-year-old man sustained minor injuries and did not need hospitalization.
Later, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office said the injury toll from the attack rose to three.
Cherkasy
In Cherkasy, on the morning of 21 September, during a massive missile attack by Russia, the debris of a downed missile hit a hotel building in the city center.
Nine people were injured in the hotel, with two being in serious condition, five having moderate injuries, and two with light injuries, according to Oblast Head Ihor Taburets.
Also, the debris injured a woman passing by the crash site, according to Suspilne.
Rivne
Rivne Oblast authorities reported damage to an energy facility, which caused a “partial blackout” in Rivne district, and a car service station due to the Russian missile strikes. No one was hurt.
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Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast Head Maksym Kozytskyi reported that three Russian missiles hit Drohobych in Lviv Oblast, with two of them hitting an industrial facility, setting a workshop ablaze and destroying a warehouse building. The third missile hit a private warehouse. There were no reports on casualties.
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