Russia сlaims air defence downs 179 Ukrainian drones in 24 hours

Russian air defence forces have reportedly destroyed a significant number of Ukrainian drones and guided aerial bombs over the past 24 hours, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence's press service.

The ministry announced that "six guided aerial bombs and 179 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down" in the last day. The statement also claimed that Ukrainian forces have lost a total of 76,676 drones since the beginning of the hostilities.

The aerial attacks included a series of overnight strikes on August 12. Air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 25 drones over various Russian regions during the night, with 22 of these neutralised over the Rostov region and three over the Stavropol region.

The drone attacks continued into the morning. Between 7:30 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. Moscow time, three targets were destroyed over the Ulyanovsk region, and one was shot down over the Belgorod region.

Additionally, the Telegram channel SHOT reported on an attack in the Republic of Tatarstan. According to their report, four Rubak-type drones were destroyed in the region's airspace. Ukrainian forces were reportedly attempting to strike the area using these drones.

By Tamilla Hasanova