Russia Says Air Defenses Downed 172 Ukrainian Drones
Russia says its air defenses downed 172 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions, as Belgorod and Bryansk officials reported casualties.
Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 172 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones overnight on June 16, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
According to the ministry, the drones were shot down over the Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Oryol, Tambov, Tula, Rostov and Ryazan regions, as well as the Moscow region, Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Crimea. Air defenses also destroyed drones over the Azov and Black seas.
The day before, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Moscow time, Russian air defense units intercepted another 74 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. The Defense Ministry said they were downed over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Smolensk, Tver and Tula regions, the Moscow region, the Republic of Crimea and the waters of the Azov and Black seas.
In the Belgorod region, acting Governor Aleksandr Shuvayev said the region had come under attack 58 times over the past 24 hours. The strikes affected the Alekseyevsky, Belgorodsky, Borisovsky, Valuysky, Veydelevsky, Volokonovsky, Grayvoronsky, Gubkinsky, Korochansky, Krasnoyaruzhsky, Rakityansky, Starooskolsky and Shebekinsky districts.
Shuvayev said aviation and artillery were used four times, while explosive devices were dropped from drones in four other cases. Air defense crews and other units involved in the response downed and suppressed 111 drones.
Eight civilians were wounded in the Valuysky, Volokonovsky, Grayvoronsky and Shebekinsky districts. Six of them remain hospitalized, with doctors providing the necessary treatment, Shuvayev said.
In the Bryansk region, acting Governor Yegor Kovalchuk earlier reported a fixed-wing drone strike in the Pochepsky district. According to him, the drone hit a field near the settlement of Selishche belonging to APH Miratorg while agricultural work was underway. Three machine operators were killed.