Moscow reports 149 drones intercepted across southern, western regions

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 149 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles overnight, in one of the largest reported waves of drone activity in recent weeks.

In a statement issued on February 20, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation said the drones were shot down between 23:00 on February 19 and 07:00 the following morning.

According to the ministry, 57 drones were downed over the Bryansk region. A further 28 were destroyed over the Black Sea, while 24 were intercepted above the Sea of Azov.

Air defences also neutralised 20 drones over Crimea and 17 over the Krasnodar region. Two unmanned aircraft were shot down in the Rostov region and one in the Belgorod region, the statement said.

Separately, Ukrainian drones reportedly struck a private residential house in the village of Verkhopenye in the Ivnyansky district of the Belgorod region.

The regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said two people were injured in the attack. A woman was taken to the hospital with burns to her hands and soft tissue injuries to her back, while a man received medical assistance at the scene.

By Aghakazim Guliyev