Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that overnight on September 19, air defense units intercepted and destroyed four Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Crimea.

The statement underlined that the unmanned aircraft were neutralized by on-duty air defense systems during the night.

Just a day earlier, on September 18, Russian forces had repelled a much larger drone attack, shooting down 43 UAVs. Of those, 23 were destroyed over the Rostov region.

Meanwhile, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov explained why Ukrainian drones are not always detected immediately after crossing the border. He noted that they often fly at altitudes where air defense systems cannot engage instantly, and are targeted only once they descend to reachable levels.