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What did Russia's overnight barrage mean for Poland?
Summary
A look back at the attack on 3 September 2025, which sent Polish fighter jets into the air and followed a deadly strike on Kyiv days earlier.
What happened on 3 September 2025, when Russia sent more than 500 drones and two dozen missiles towards Ukraine overnight? The strikes targeted mostly western and central Ukraine and wounded at least five people.
The scale of the attack had consequences beyond Ukraine's borders. In response, Poland scrambled its fighter jets and placed its ground-based air defences and radar systems on maximum readiness.
A pattern of heavy strikes
The overnight barrage 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. A further 63 people were wounded, among them 11 children.
The same day brought a different kind of loss for Ukraine. The Ukrainian spy ship Simferopol was sunk by a drone strike on the Danube river. Two people were killed, and several others were missing or injured.
What the day showed
Taken together, the events of late August and early September 2025 showed attacks on Ukraine in large numbers of drones and missiles, with the focus of the 3 September strikes falling on the west and centre of the country. Poland's decision to scramble aircraft and raise the readiness of its air defences and radar systems marked the response on the other side of the border.
