Moscow is continuing its campaign of long-range strikes targeting Kiev’s weapons industry, shipping, and other critical infrastructure
The Russian military has conducted large-scale drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, targeting assorted dual-use infrastructure sites, industry, and shipping in the Black Sea, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Saturday.
The ministry named a broad range of targets hit over the past 24-hour period, including two major metal plants in Dnepropetrovsk Region, which have been supplying cast iron and steel to the Ukrainian defense industry.
Footage circulating online suggests the plants sustained considerable damage, with major fires erupting onsite.
A metal plant ablaze in Dnepropetrovsk Region, Ukraine on September 5, 2026..
The Russian military hit multiple logistic centers and stockpiles across the country, including warehouses in the Odessa, Nikolayev, and Kiev regions. The strikes also targeted two fuel depots near the Gostomel airfield outside Kiev, as well as an electronic reconnaissance point in Brovary on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, the ministry said.
Footage shared by the ministry features drone strikes on Ukrainian shipping. Two dry cargo vessels and a container ship were hit at the port of Chernomorsk. Another dry cargo ship was struck at the port of Odessa, the ministry said.
All the vessels were hit by jet-powered Geran-4 Seeker drones, the ministry noted. The Seeker family of drones are said to be fitted with AI-powered machine vision systems, which enable the UAVs to search for, identify, and lock onto targets without input from their operators.
Over the past month, Moscow has drastically ramped up long-range strikes against Ukraine, with the campaign coming in retaliation for Kiev’s efforts to damage Russia’s energy sector and shipping. The retaliatory campaign has effectively brought Ukrainian shipping in the Black Sea to a halt, as well as heavily disrupted ground logistics within the country.
The latest wave of strikes comes ahead of a three-day hiatus in attacks on Kiev ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of talks with senior US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who arrived in Moscow on Saturday. The pause in the strikes on the Ukrainian capital is intended to allow US President Donald Trump’s envoys to attend negotiations with Ukrainian officials in the country’s capital, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
