Ukraine Downed All 32 Russian Drones in Overnight Barrage: Kyiv

Ukrainian forces downed all Iranian-designed Shahed drones launched by Russia in an overnight barrage, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleschuk, said.

Oleschuk said Russian forces launched 32 of the kamikaze drones at Ukraine from Russia's Kursk region and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Krasnodar Krai. They were shot down by Ukraine's fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force, mobile fire groups of Ukraine's Defense Forces, and electronic warfare units, he said on Telegram.

"During the night, the defenders of the skies shot down all 32 Shahed drones in Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Chernihiv and Cherkasy regions," Oleschuk wrote.

"Thank you for the 100% result!" he added. "Together to victory!"

Newsweek has yet to verify these claims and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Moscow uses Shahed drones extensively in the war in Ukraine. Russia was first reported to have used the drones on September 13, 2022, and has deployed them to attack Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and the country's critical infrastructure, regularly causing power outages.

In December, Ukraine said Russia had launched more than 3,700 Shahed drones into its territory in the previous 22 months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia intends to "exhaust" his country with attacks using the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Last month, a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia's southern Krasnodar Krai is reported to have damaged a Russian Shahed kamikaze drone base. Ukraine has frequently attacked Russia's military bases, saying they are legitimate targets in the ongoing war between the two countries.

Ukrainian forces also launched a drone attack on the town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Krasnodar Krai, and on the city of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, officials reported on Friday.

Kyiv "has made another attempt to attack civilian objects in the region using UAVs. In Primorsko-Akhtarsk, our air defense shot down several drones," said Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of Krasnodar Krai, in a Telegram post.

Kondratyev said a 6-year-old girl died in hospital after the drone attack, and that falling debris damaged civilian objects.

In Rostov-on-Don, falling drone debris caused fires, regional governor Vasily Golubev said. Videos and images circulating on social media showed damaged buildings.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense systems downed 14 Ukrainian drones over Krasnodar Krai, with 10 drones over the Rostov region.

A Ukrainian drone barrage on Monday left 90 percent of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, without electricity, Ukraine's Energy Ministry said. In the neighboring Voronezh region, electricity supply was also limited in several districts, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported.

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