Overnight attack: Ukraine foils nearly 480 Russian drones, missiles
Shafaq News/ Ukraine’s military intercepted or disabled nearly 480 aerial threats on Monday during one of the largest Russian air assaults since the war began in February 2022.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported that Russian forces launched 499 aerial weapons overnight from multiple locations, including Kursk, Oryol, Shatalovo, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. The attack featured 479 Shahed drones and decoys, along with a range of missiles: four Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from Tambov, 10 Kh-101 cruise missiles from Saratov, three Kh-22s, two Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles, and one Kh-35 from Crimea.
By mid-morning, Ukrainian air defenses had shot down 292 targets and jammed another 187. The tally included 277 drones destroyed, 183 disrupted by electronic warfare, 10 Kh-101s neutralized, and four Kinzhals intercepted.
The military described the strike as part of Russia’s escalating “aerial saturation” tactic designed to overwhelm air defenses and cripple infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces downed 49 Ukrainian drones over seven regions, including Voronezh, Kursk, and Bryansk. In Voronezh, falling debris sparked fires that damaged a gas pipeline and a residential building. Governor Alexander Gusev confirmed the blazes were contained.
Two additional drones struck the JSC VNIIR-Progress facility in the Chuvash Republic, leading to a temporary shutdown. Drone activity was also reported in nearby farmland. Authorities briefly closed airspace over airports in Kazan, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Tambov.
Both countries have escalated strikes in recent weeks amid renewed diplomatic efforts to revive peace talks for the first time since the war’s early months.
