Russian air defense systems have shot down 112 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry has reported.
In a statement on Friday morning, the ministry announced that more than a dozen regions in Russia were reportedly targeted by Ukrainian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
According to the statement, over 13 Russian regions were subjected to drone attacks by Ukraine throughout the night, of which the Moscow region took the biggest task by destroying 24 drones.
Crimea was also a region of interest for the Ukrainian drones, where 22 UAVs were downed.
Furthermore, the Tula region witnessed a total of 18 interceptions, while 11 more drones were shot down above the Kursk region, the statement read.
Russian air defenses were also deployed in the Orel, Bryansk, Ryazan, Kaluga, Belgorod, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Voronezh, and Lipetsk regions, the ministry said.
The nightly drone incursions disrupted air traffic around Russia and forced airports in Moscow and several other regions to put flights on hold.
Local reports say that eight people were injured in the city of Yelets in the Lipetsk region, where the debris of a destroyed UAV fell on an industrial site.
Moreover, fragments of a UAV destroyed the roof of a multi-story residential building in Yelets, causing damage to 20 apartments.
Ukrainian drone attacks against Russia have intensified this week, with a total of 485 UAVs downed across the country since Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Russia said that its air defenses shot down more than 260 Ukrainian drones, including some approaching Moscow.
Authorities in the western Bryansk region said on Thursday that a civilian was killed and another injured in a targeted strike on Kamensky Khutor, a village near the border with northeastern Ukraine’s Chernihiv region.
As a result of the recent raids, Moscow’s Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, Vnukovo, and Sheremetyevo Airports have repeatedly halted their operations, causing significant flight delays.
Ukraine continues to enjoy a flow of military aid, drones, intelligence support, and ammunition from nearly every major Western power. Yet, it repeatedly accuses Russia for receiving military equipment from its allies.
The Ukrainian approach toward the ongoing 11-year-old conflict with Russia has mainly revolved around expectations of being armed to the teeth, while accusing Russia of aggression and insisting that the Kremlin be denied the right to engage in military transactions with its allies.
