Russia reports shooting down 44 Ukrainian drones in six hours

Between 09:00 and 15:00 Moscow time, Russian air defence units detected and destroyed 44 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones, the Russian Ministry of Defence said on Telegram.

According to the ministry, 37 drones were shot down over the Bryansk region, five over the Rostov region, and two over the Belgorod region.

In an earlier statement on Telegram, the ministry said that between 11:00 p.m. Moscow time on December 24 and 7:00 a.m. on December 25, air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 141 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

The highest number of drones was shot down over the Bryansk region, the ministry said. Air defences also destroyed 12 drones over the Tula region, 11 over the Kaluga region, nine over the Moscow region, and eight over the Republic of Adygea.

In addition, 39 drones were intercepted over the Rostov, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, and Volgograd regions, as well as over the Krasnodar region, Crimea, and the waters of the Sea of Azov, according to the Defence Ministry.

By Khagan Isayev