Russian air defenses repelled a large-scale overnight drone attack, intercepting and destroying 315 Ukrainian fixed-wing UAVs over Russian regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The drones were shot down over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Novgorod, Oryol, Pskov, Ryazan, Rostov, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula and Yaroslavl regions. Air defense systems were also active in the Moscow region, Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Crimea and over the Sea of Azov.

In the Yaroslavl region, Governor Mikhail Evrayev said most of the drones had been downed, but one UAV struck an industrial facility. A fire broke out at the site, and emergency crews are working to extinguish it. According to the governor, no one was injured.

After the attack, traffic in Yaroslavl was temporarily restricted at the intersection of Moskovsky Prospekt and the South-Western Ring Road. The closure was later lifted, and the route out of the city toward Moscow reopened to vehicles.

The Kursk region also came under heavy attack. Governor Alexander Khinshtein said 108 drones of various types were shot down between 09:00 on May 18 and 09:00 on May 19. During the same period, Ukrainian forces used artillery 171 times against evacuated areas of the region. Another 10 attacks were carried out with drones carrying explosive devices.

In the village of Markovo in the Glushkovsky district, a woman was killed and two other people were wounded. In Giryi, in the Belovsky district, the wall of a storage building at a feed mill was damaged. In Maloye Soldatskoye, a tractor was hit, with damage to its windows and bodywork. In Novaya Krivtsovka, in the Oboyansky district, a private house burned down completely.

Air defenses were also active overnight in the Voronezh region. Governor Alexander Gusev said 17 drones had been detected and destroyed over two urban districts and five municipal districts. Preliminary reports indicated no casualties or damage.

Earlier on May 18, between 07:00 and 20:00 Moscow time, Russian air defense units intercepted and destroyed 126 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions.