Russia Says It Struck Ukrainian Ports, Vessels and Infrastructure

Russia's defence ministry said its forces struck Ukrainian military infrastructure and vessels in a series of drone attacks between September 27 and 30, 2026, hitting ports, data centres, warehouses and cargo ships in the Kyiv, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, while separate overnight strikes on the Odesa region injured at least eight people.²¹

Ports and vessels targeted

According to the Russian defence ministry, forces carried out overnight drone strikes on September 27 hitting logistics centres, port and transport infrastructure, communications centres and vessels linked to the Ukrainian military. The ministry said one cargo vessel loaded with military and dual-use cargo destined for Odesa was struck, and that a second Odesa-bound cargo ship was hit in a subsequent wave of strikes reported a day later.²⁵³⁷

Moscow also reported that its forces damaged a data centre in Kyiv, logistics facilities across the Kyiv and Odesa regions, a pair of drone storage sites in Mykolaiv, and the headquarters buildings of a naval base and the State Border Guard Service. Russia further claimed to have struck military stores at Kiliya port, though this claim was reported by a single source.²³⁷

Reuters said it could not independently verify the Russian claims.²⁷

Communications and industry hit

Kyivstar, described as Ukraine's largest mobile provider, said its head office in Kyiv had been struck. The company said: "its head office had been struck but there were no casualties."²⁵³⁸

Russian state media reported additional strikes on facilities including a warehouse belonging to the Zammler Group in the Kyiv region, which the Russian defence ministry described as having been "used to store and distribute Western military aid flowing to Ukraine." State media also said a data centre belonging to Vodafone Ukraine, described by the ministry as "one of the largest companies providing mobile communication and high-speed internet services to the Ukrainian military," was hit, along with data centres of Omega Telecom and warehouses storing attack drones in the Mykolaiv region. Pegasus Arms said its manufacturing site was heavily damaged, having already halted operations late last year following earlier Russian strikes, according to Russian state media.⁶

Russian state news agency TASS reported strikes on companies it said supported Ukrainian military communications and logistics, including Ukrtelecom, Dreamline and the Dunaisudoservis shipbuilding enterprise at Izmail port, and said a Nova Post logistics centre was storing military cargo. These characterisations were reported by a single source and remain unconfirmed.⁴

In the German company Karcher's case, its press service said, according to TASS, that after a warehouse in Ukraine was destroyed in an explosion, "the company was proceeding to Plan B that envisages the use of alternative supply routes for its products to Ukraine."⁴

Odesa strikes and casualties

Overnight strikes reported on September 30 hit port facilities and other sites in Ukraine's Odesa region, injuring at least eight people. Regional governor Oleh Kiper said that crews were working at the site to deal with the aftermath of the strike. He added that everyone who had been hurt was getting the medical care they needed.¹

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said fragments had landed on the grounds of a Western embassy located in the heart of the Ukrainian capital. The same reporting said Russia struck a communications hub and power facilities in Kyiv, along with port infrastructure in Izmail.¹

Klitschko also reported damage to a number of fuel stations in Kiev's Obolonsky district, while regional governor Yegor Kovalchuk said Ukrainian forces had struck rail lines on the Trosna-Rzhanitsa stretch in Russia's Bryansk region as a Smolensk-to-Bryansk train was passing through, though no one was hurt.⁴

Context and reaction

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov linked the strikes to actions Ukraine had taken in recent months, saying Kyiv would face consequences for what it had done. He said this was the reason for the current strikes, adding that Russian forces were still carrying out what Moscow calls its special military operation. Peskov's account also referenced a large-scale Ukrainian attack on Moscow during Russia's September parliamentary election that had targeted polling stations, as well as a drone strike on St Petersburg in June during a major economic forum. Peskov said all proposals to settle the four-and-a-half-year conflict remained on the table and that Moscow needed to assess its own interests regarding peace.²

Ukraine's General Staff said its forces had hit a drone launch site in Russian-occupied Donetsk, along with ammunition depots, a logistics facility in occupied Luhansk and a fuel storage site in Donetsk, describing locations used to stockpile, ready and deploy attack drones as a top target for Ukrainian troops.³

Poland issued a high-readiness emergency alert and scrambled military aircraft following the overnight strikes reported on September 30, amid what was described as growing Russian pressure on NATO's eastern flank, according to a single source.¹