Russian air defences shoot down 17 Ukrainian drones in five-hour span

On December 26, Russian air defence units reportedly destroyed 17 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles between 08:00 and 13:00 Moscow time, the Russian Defence Ministry announced.

Of these, 16 drones were shot down over Crimea and one over the Black Sea, Caliber.Az reports, citing the ministry’s Telegram channel.

Ukraine and Russia’s ongoing war has seen a constant drone escalation, with both sides using unmanned aerial systems for strikes and reconnaissance as part of evolving combat tactics.

Russian authorities have repeatedly claimed that their air‑defence networks — especially those deployed around the militarised Crimean Peninsula — have intercepted and destroyed large numbers of Ukrainian UAVs during waves of attacks aimed at military and logistical targets in and around Crimea and the Black Sea. 

Ukraine has also targeted Russian air‑defence infrastructure directly, with Ukrainian military intelligence reporting strikes that damaged advanced radar and missile systems within occupied Crimea, highlighting the tactical interplay between drone strikes and layered air defence.

Crimea remains a strategic focal point in the conflict: Russia heavily fortifies the peninsula with air‑defence assets to protect key naval bases, command hubs, and logistics routes, while Ukraine persistently targets those systems with drones to weaken Russia’s defensive buffer.

By Jeyhun Aghazada