Ukraine downs 22 drones in Odesa Oblast

Russia attacked Ukraine in several waves overnight on Sept. 3 using Iranian-made kamikaze drones, the Air Force said in its morning update.

Russia used a total of 25 Shahed-136/131 drones against Ukraine's southern regions that were launched from the occupied Crimea and Russia's port city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Krasnodarsk Krai located on the coast of the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine's air defense downed 22 drones that targeted Odesa Oblast. Air raid alert was on in Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa oblasts in the early hours of Sept. 3.

Odesa’s regional infrastructure was repeatedly hit by Russia over the past months.

Earlier in the day, Russian forces attacked Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's city of Nikopol and its surrounding areas with heavy artillery, wounding four people and damaging houses and power lines, local governor reported.

The Nikopol area, which includes the town of Marhanets nearby, is under constant Russian attacks, often resulting in civilian deaths and destruction.

Military: Ukraine has breached Russia’s first line of defense near Zaporizhzhia

Ukrainian forces have achieved a significant breakthrough by successfully breaching Russia’s initial defensive line near Zaporizhzhia, General Oleksandr Tarnavsky, the commander of Ukraine’s military fighting in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, said in an interview with the Guardian.

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova