On the night of October 3 (from 20:00 on October 2), the Russian forces carried out a combined strike on Ukrainian territory using strike drones and air- and ground-launched missiles, totaling 416 aerial attack weapons:
- 381 strike UAVs of the Shahed and Gerbera types (and other drones) launched from directions including Kursk, Bryansk, Millerovo, Orel, Shatalovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russia);
- 7 ballistic missiles Iskander-M/KN-23;
- 21 cruise missiles Iskander-K;
- 7 guided aviation missiles Kh-59/69.
The main targets were critical infrastructure facilities (energy sector) in Kharkiv and Poltava regions. The night attack also affected Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, and Kyiv regions.
The air assault was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, UAV defense systems, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
According to preliminary data as of 10:00, air defense systems shot down or suppressed 320 aerial targets:
- 303 UAVs of the Shahed and Gerbera types (and other drones);
- 12 Iskander-K cruise missiles;
- 5 guided aviation missiles Kh-59/69.
Impacts were recorded from 18 missiles and 78 strike UAVs at 15 locations, and debris from shot-down targets fell in 6 locations.
