By Alperen Aktas
ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine and Russia on Thursday exchanged claims of large-scale overnight drone attacks, with both sides reporting the interception of more than 100 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones).
Ukraine’s Air Force Command said its air defense units destroyed or suppressed 92 out of 130 Russian drones launched from multiple directions, including Kursk, Millerovo, Shatalovo, Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Chauda on the occupied Crimean Peninsula.
“The enemy attacked with 130 attack UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera type and drones of other types. About 80 of them were Shahed,” the command said on Telegram.
The assault was countered using aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare systems, and mobile fire groups. According to the Ukrainian military, 25 drones struck 11 locations across northern and eastern Ukraine, with debris also falling in several areas.
State news agency Ukrinform reported that a Russian drone hit a railway station in the northeastern Sumy region, injuring two people.
Separately, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its air defense systems destroyed 139 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions, including 56 over Belgorod, 22 over Bryansk, and 21 over Voronezh.
It added that additional drones were intercepted over the Ryazan, Rostov, Crimea, Tambov, Volgograd, Oryol, Kaluga, and Kursk regions.
Neither side’s claims could be independently verified.