Russian forces shoot down their own drones following Putin’s order

Russian forces have shot down seven of their own drones already in flight after receiving an order from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin, to halt strikes on energy facilities, said the Russian Ministry of Defence.

"It is particularly noteworthy that at the moment the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation issued an order for the temporary suspension of strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, seven Russian attack drones were already airborne, targeting energy infrastructure facilities linked to the military-industrial complex in Mykolaiv region,” the ministry added, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

The Russian air defence forces were ordered to neutralize the unmanned aerial vehicles; six were shot down by Pantsir air defence missile systems, while one was downed by an on-duty fighter jet of the Russian Aerospace Forces," the statement reads.

The Defense Ministry added that Kyiv's attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure were a prepared provocation to disrupt US President Donald Trump's peace initiatives.

During a telephone conversation between Putin and US President Donald Trump on March 18, the leaders agreed that the first step towards peace between Russia and Ukraine would be the cessation of hostilities in the energy and infrastructure sectors. The Russian president immediately gave the military a corresponding command.

Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian side supported the proposal.

By Khagan Isayev