Russia says 42 Ukrainian drones shot down in overnight strikes

On the night of August 20, Russian air defence forces intercepted and destroyed 42 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones across several regions, the Ministry of Defence press service announced.

According to the ministry, 14 drones were shot down over the Voronezh region, eight over the Tambov region, and seven over the Kursk region.

Another five were destroyed over the Rostov region, while two drones each were downed over the Bryansk, Oryol, and Smolensk regions. One drone was intercepted over the Krasnodar Territory, and another over the Lipetsk region.

This large-scale drone attack followed strikes reported the previous evening. Between 9 p.m. and midnight Moscow time on August 19, air defence units destroyed 23 Ukrainian drones. Of these, eight were downed over the Kursk region, seven over the Bryansk region, five over the Belgorod region, two over the territory of Crimea, and one over the Black Sea.

In a separate statement in the early hours of August 20, Yuri Slyusar, acting governor of the Rostov region, confirmed that a drone had been shot down in the Chertkovsky district of the region. He said that, based on preliminary information, the incident caused no casualties or damage.

By Tamilla Hasanova