Ukraine says it downed 138 Russian drones overnight

ISTANBUL

Ukraine’s Air Force said on Sunday it shot down 138 Russian drones overnight, while Russia also reported destroying 20 Ukrainian drones over its own territory.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russian forces launched 267 strike drones, including Shahed drones, along with three Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles from Crimea. The attack targeted multiple regions across Ukraine.

Ukrainian air defenses, including aviation units, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare, and mobile fire groups, intercepted the assault, downing 138 drones over regions including Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk.

Ukraine said 119 decoy drones failed to reach their targets, with some losing location tracking. Damage was reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Poltava, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 20 Ukrainian drones over Oryol, Belgorod, Kursk, Lipetsk, Tula, and Voronezh regions.