Russia launches large overnight drone strike – DW – 06/09/2025

Poland scrambled warplanes on Monday to secure its airspace as Russia launched hundreds of drones at Ukraine.

“Due to the intensive air attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft began to operate in Polish airspace in the morning,” Warsaw’s Operational Command said in a statement on Facebook.

Poland is one of Ukraine’s closest allies and a member of NATO.

It has reported breaches of its airspace during previous Russian attacks.

In March 2024, Poland reported that a Russian cruise missile had violated its airspace and demanded an explanation from Moscow. A similar incident occurred in December 2023.

A Ukrainian drone strike deep into Russia forced a temporary suspension of production at an electronics company in the Volga River region of Chuvashia, the head of the region said.

“This morning, Ukrainian attempts to use drones in Chuvashia were detected,” regional governor Oleg Nikolayev wrote on Telegram.

Moscow reported that debris from intercepted drones fell on the facility, while Ukraine stated there was a direct hit on the site.

The factory is 1,300 km (800 miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border and, according to Kyiv, “specializes in manufacturing navigation equipment used in attack drones, guided aerial bombs, and high-precision weapons.”

Russia has launched what Ukrainian officials are calling the largest drone assault since the start of the war, firing a record 479 drones overnight.

The Ukrainian Air Force says it successfully intercepted or shot down 460 of them, along with 19 out of 20 missiles also launched during the overnight barrage.

It comes after Russia launched a massive aerial bombardment across Ukraine over the weekend in what appeared to be retaliation for recent strikes on its air bases.

Moscow has intensified attacks in recent weeks as ceasefire talks stall.

Russia launched nearly 500 drones at Ukraine overnight, but Kyiv also landed a significant blow, targeting an electronics company reportedly involved in producing navigation systems for Moscow’s attack drones, guided bombs, and precision weapons.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will use a speech in London to push for a massive increase in air and missile defense in the military alliance.

We’ll have more details about these developments, live updates, expert analysis, and on-the-ground reporting as we continue our coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine.