What did the night of Russian strikes on Ukraine leave behind?
A look back at the Russian drone and missile attacks reported across Ukraine, and a disclosure about two North Korean prisoners of war, in the days around 24 September 2026.
What did the attacks reported across Ukraine on 23 September 2026 mean for the regions they struck? Looking back from 1 October 2026, the picture of 24 September 2026 was shaped by that toll and by a separate disclosure from the president.
Strikes across the country
Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least eight civilians, as reported on 23 September. Six of the dead were agricultural workers in Kharkiv Oblast. Two people were killed in Kyiv. Strikes also hit Odesa.
Ukraine said it intercepted or suppressed 119 of 161 drones launched in the attacks, which left 42 that were not stopped.
Kyiv, home to around 2,950,000 residents, has been frequently targeted by the Russian Armed Forces during the war. Odesa and the surrounding region have likewise come under shelling and air strikes on multiple occasions since the conflict began, including fire from Russian warships in the Black Sea and cruise missiles.
Two prisoners handed to Seoul
On the same date, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. The two had been captured in Kursk Oblast, Russia, in January 2025.
North Korea has supported Russia in the war since 2017, when it recognised the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. In July 2022 it recognised the Russia-backed, self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, prompting Ukraine to sever diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.
Two threads of one day
The two items were distinct. One was about civilians in farming areas and cities far from each other, from Kharkiv Oblast to the capital and the Black Sea coast. The other concerned the handling of captured foreign fighters and a transfer between Kyiv and Seoul.
Together they showed a war that reached agricultural workers in Kharkiv Oblast, the capital and the port region of Odesa, while also drawing in South Korea through the fate of two North Korean prisoners.
