Russia Says It Shot Down Almost 40 Ukrainian Drones Overnight

(Bloomberg) -- Russia said its air defense took down almost 40 Ukrainian drones overnight, chiefly over Crimea, in one of the heaviest attacks in months. 

The Russian Defense Ministry reported 32 drones shot down over Crimea, the peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Six drones were shot down in the Kursk region and another in the Belgorod region, both to Ukraine’s north. 

The drone swarm was the largest since late November, when UAVs were launched by Ukraine across four Russian regions, including Moscow. In that instance a source at Ukraine’s military intelligence said 35 drones were launched while Russia reported 24. 

Russia provided no reports on damage in Crimea from the overnight attacks. Unverified social media posts reported explostions at Russian military facilities in Crimea. 

Kursk Region Governor Roman Starovoyt said on Telegram post that two districts were attacked, with no injuries reported. 

Power supplies to one of facilities of iron-ore producer Mikhailovsky GOK JSC were damaged but have been restored, according to the press service of Metalloinvest Holding. 

Several settlements were also shelled in the Belgorod region, which directly borders Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. There were no injuries. 

The drone strikes followed recent intense Russian attacks on Ukraine. Kremlin forces targeted several Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv and port infrastructure in the Danube area, over the past week.  

Ukraine said Russia fired a rarely used Kinzhal hypersonic missile on Thursday while Russian President Vladimir Putin was holding a media event in which he vowed to win the war. 

Ukraine’s air defense shot down 30 out of 31 Shahed drones targeting various parts of the country on Friday night, it said in a Telegram post on Saturday.   

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