Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that, during the night of 3 January, air defense units shot down 22 enemy drones over several Russian regions and the waters of the Azov Sea. The ministry said on-duty air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 22 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

According to the military, 12 of the drones were downed over Krym, six over Krasnodar Krai, two over Rostov Region, and one each over Adygea and the Azov Sea.

Governor of Rostov Region Yuri Slyusar stated earlier that air defense crews had repelled drone attacks in four districts of the region. Preliminary information indicated there were no casualties.

Overnight, a drone attack alert regime was also introduced across all regions of the North Caucasus, the regional office of the Emergencies Ministry in Dagestan reported. Against this backdrop, temporary additional restrictions were imposed on arrivals and departures at Gelendzhik airport. Rosaviatsiya later clarified that by the morning of 3 January flight bans had been lifted at the airports of Krasnodar and Volgograd.