Russia shoots down over 50 Ukrainian drones overnight

Russia’s Ministry of Defence has announced that its air defences intercepted and destroyed 56 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) overnight, in what appears to be one of the largest reported drone attacks in recent weeks.

According to the ministry, the drones were of fixed-wing aircraft type and were neutralised across multiple regions of the country, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian Defence Ministry.

"During the past night, duty air defence systems destroyed and intercepted 56 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles: 27 drones over the Voronezh region, 12 over Belgorod, 15 over the Azov Sea, and one each over the Rostov and Krasnodar regions," the statement reads.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its air defence systems destroyed or intercepted 71 Ukrainian drones overnight across six regions, with 49 of them downed over Kursk. Meanwhile, Moscow said it had seized the village of Preobrazhensky in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Kyiv reported a wave of Russian strikes involving five missiles and 75 drones, with the air force managing to shoot down 25 drones. A further 30 reportedly failed to reach their targets due to electronic warfare measures.

Civilian areas were once again hit. In the southern city of Nikopol, Russian shelling killed two people and injured five, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said. The death toll from recent Russian strikes on Dnipro rose to three, with 31 others wounded and at least 15 buildings damaged, according to Mayor Borys Filatov. In Kherson, two road workers were killed in a Russian drone attack, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

By Aghakazim Guliyev