What happened on 23 September 2026 in Ukraine's war

What did a single day of the Russo-Ukrainian war look like on 23 September 2026? It combined deadly strikes on Ukrainian territory, a scare on NATO-member Poland's border and a notable diplomatic disclosure.

Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine killed at least eight civilians on that date. Six were agricultural workers in Kharkiv Oblast and two died in Kyiv, while strikes also hit Odesa. Ukraine said it intercepted or suppressed 119 of 161 drones launched.

Kyiv and Odesa have both been repeatedly targeted by Russian forces since the full-scale invasion began, as later background accounts describe.

Poland scrambles jets

The same day, Poland deployed fighter jets into its airspace after a Russian helicopter intruded near Braniewo, in Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship. The reports of the incident said nothing more about the aircraft's route or purpose.

Prisoners sent to South Korea

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 23 September that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. Ukraine had captured the two in Kursk Oblast, Russia, in January 2025. The announcement placed North Korea's involvement in the war and Seoul's relations with Kyiv in the news together.

Background accounts note that North Korea has backed Russia since 2017, when it recognised the 2014 annexation of Crimea. In July 2022 it recognised the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and Ukraine then severed diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.

Sanctions decision two days earlier

On 21 September, European Union ambassadors had agreed in principle to remove the Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov from sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The same agreement renewed restrictions on about 3,000 other Russian-linked individuals and entities for three years. Latvia later blocked the deal.