Russian Air Defense Shoots Down 32 Ukrainian Drones Overnight
Moscow’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that the Russian air defense system had intercepted 32 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory during the night.
The main target of the attack appeared to be the Saratov region, where 11 drones were shot down, according to the ministry’s statement.
Four drones were destroyed in the Kursk and Rostov regions, three in the Belgorod and Bryansk regions, two in the Krasnodar region, one in the Volgograd region, and four more over the Azov Sea, the statement said.
Saratov Governor Roman Busargin wrote on Telegram that the cities of Saratov and Engels had been exposed to a large-scale drone attack overnight. He thanked the military for ensuring the region’s safety.
A fire broke out at an industrial facility as a result of a drone attack, but no one was injured, according to the report.
In a later post, Busargin said he had visited the site of the fire and assured that “sufficient forces and means are available to contain the fire.”
During the drone attack, the flight traffic at the airports in Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Kazan, and Nizhnekamsk was suspended, the Russian air traffic control agency Rosaviatsia reported. All restrictions have since been lifted.
Kyiv stepped up its drone attacks on Russia in early 2024, primarily targeting the country’s energy infrastructure, but also affecting residential areas. Moscow responded by adding Ukrainian power plants to its list of legitimate military targets and destroying or taking out of service most of Ukraine’s non-nuclear power generation.
In December, several Ukrainian Su-25 drones hit residential high-rises and a factory in the Russian city of Kazan, which was described in the media as an “11 September-style attack.” According to the Defense Ministry, six drones were destroyed, but some managed to get through and cause damage, with no casualties reported.
On New Year’s Eve, the Russian air defense system shot down 68 drones in several regions near the Ukrainian border. A fuel depot in the Smolensk region was damaged, local officials reported.