Attacks by over 100 Ukrainian drones repelled overnight – MOD

24.05.2025 19:10

A Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system
Photo:Sputnik

Russian air defenses have eliminated 104 Ukrainian drones in the country’s airspace overnight, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

Belgorod Region, where 74 drones were shot down, was most affected, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday morning.

Bryansk Region saw 24 interceptions, and UAVs were also destroyed in Kursk, Lipetsk, Voronezh and Tula regions, according to the statement.

The ministry did not report any incursions in Moscow Region; the capital has been the main target of Kiev’s drone attacks in recent days.

Ukraine has intensified its UAV raids this week, with 776 UAVs being shot down in Russian airspace between Tuesday and Friday, according to the Defense Ministry.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that the incursions had led to one person being killed and injured 20, including four children.

According to the ministry, the continued “terror attacks against civilians” by Kiev’s forces are “an attempt to thwart direct Russia-Ukraine talks facilitated by the US administration [of President Donald Trump], which are designed to settle the conflict definitively.”

The Russian military will respond to the drone raids, but “unlike the Ukrainian side, our targets will be strictly limited to military facilities and defense industry plants,” the Foreign Ministry stressed.