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What did Poland do during the 3 September barrage?
Summary
A look back at an overnight Russian attack on Ukraine that put Polish air defences on maximum readiness.
What happened on 3 September 2025, when Russia sent more than 500 drones and two dozen missiles across Ukraine in a single night? The strikes mostly targeted western and central parts of the country and wounded at least five people.
The geography mattered beyond Ukraine's borders. In response to the attacks, Poland scrambled its fighter jets and placed ground-based air defences and radar systems on maximum readiness.
A week of heavy strikes
The overnight assault came days after another large attack. On 28 August 2025, Russian forces launched nearly 600 drones and more than 30 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv. The strikes hit multiple residential areas and killed 25 people, including four children, while wounding 63 others, among them 11 children.
The same day, the Ukrainian spy ship Simferopol was sunk by a drone strike in the Danube river. Two people were killed, and several others were missing or injured.
The picture on 3 September
Taken together, the reports from late August and early September describe sustained, large-scale aerial attacks on Ukraine, with the 3 September barrage reaching the west of the country and prompting a visible military reaction in neighbouring Poland. Warplanes in the air and radar and ground-based defences on maximum readiness marked the response on the Polish side as the night's attack unfolded.
