Russian authorities report large-scale Ukrainian drone offensive Three shot down over the capital

In the early hours of December 24, the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out one of their largest drone attacks targeting Russian territory, with strikes reported across ten regions of the country.

According to a statement published on the Telegram channel of Russia’s Ministry of Defence, Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed a total of 172 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles over the course of the night.

The heaviest activity was recorded over the Bryansk region, where 110 drones were shot down. Air defences also intercepted 20 drones over the Belgorod region, 14 over the Kaluga region, 12 over the Tula region, six over the Oryol region, four in the Moscow region, and three over the Lipetsk region.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin separately reported that a third Ukrainian drone had been downed while approaching the capital since the start of the day.

Writing on his Telegram channel, Sobyanin said that air defence units of Russia’s Ministry of Defence had repelled the attack and that emergency services were working at the site where drone debris fell. He did not provide additional details.

Earlier, Sobyanin had announced that two drones flying toward Moscow were intercepted during the night. One was destroyed at 04:17 Moscow time, while the second was shot down at 05:20.

By Tamilla Hasanova