MOSCOW: Russia’s defence ministry announced on Monday that its forces had downed 251 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The ministry described this as one of Kyiv’s largest retaliatory attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion over three years ago.
“Over the past night, air defence alert systems intercepted and destroyed 251 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles,“ the ministry stated on Telegram.
It reported that Russian forces shot down 40 drones over Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Another 62 drones were destroyed over the Black Sea, according to the ministry.
Dozens more were intercepted over the Kursk and Belgorod regions, among other areas.
Russia has maintained a near-constant barrage of drone and missile attacks, particularly targeting Ukraine’s energy networks.
Ukraine has increasingly responded with strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure. – AFP
