Russia’s defense ministry announced on Thursday that its forces intercepted and destroyed 77 Ukrainian drones overnight, marking the latest escalation in aerial warfare between the two nations.
The incident comes just two days after Moscow experienced its most significant drone assault since the conflict began three years ago.
According to the AFP, 30 drones were shot down over Bryansk, a western region bordering Ukraine, while 25 were intercepted over Kaluga.
Additional drones were reportedly neutralized over Kursk, Voronezh, Rostov, and Belgorod.
The surge in aerial attacks follows Tuesday’s large-scale drone strike on Moscow, which Russian officials described as the most extensive assault on the capital to date. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin labeled it as “the most massive enemy drone attack on Moscow.”
The Russian government claimed that three people were killed and several others wounded, adding that its air defenses intercepted a total of 337 Ukrainian drones across the country that day.
Meanwhile, Ukraine also faced fresh attacks early Thursday, with missile and drone strikes reported in multiple cities. In Kherson, a 42-year-old woman was killed, according to regional military head Roman Mrochko.
Authorities in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk confirmed that their regions also came under attack.
Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified cross-border drone strikes in recent months, with Kyiv targeting strategic locations inside Russia and Moscow ramping up retaliatory assaults on Ukrainian cities.
