Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 53 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones overnight, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.

The attack covered several Russian regions as well as the Black Sea. According to the ministry, drones were destroyed over the Krasnodar region, the Kursk, Ryazan and Belgorod regions, the Republic of Crimea, the Moscow region, and the Tula, Bryansk and Kaluga regions. Russian air defenses also intercepted some Ukrainian UAVs over the Black Sea.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces attempt to attack Russian regions with drones on a daily basis. Recently, some overnight waves have involved several hundred UAVs, the vast majority of which were destroyed by Russian air defenses. What makes the latest overnight attack notable is the sharp drop in the number of attacking drones. The previous day, for example, nearly 500 UAVs were used in an attempt to attack Russia.

There is currently no definitive explanation for the roughly tenfold decrease in the number of Ukrainian drones. However, one possibility is that the continuing Russian strikes on Ukrainian warehouses, production facilities and logistics are beginning to have a tangible effect. Another is that Ukraine is conserving and stockpiling strike drones in preparation for an attack on an unprecedented scale.