Russian air defense reports shooting down numerous Ukrainian drones and shelling details
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 23 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles that were attempting to operate over the region. The report emphasizes the military’s ongoing posture to counter drone activity as part of its broader security operations.
The ministry specifies that several drones were brought down over populated areas within the Donetsk People’s Republic, including Novoandreevka, Spornoe, and Lipovoe. The statements frame these locations as areas where aerial threats were neutralized in the course of recent operations.
Drone interceptions also occurred near the settlements of Podkuychansk and Popasnaya in the Lugansk People’s Republic, as well as Veseloe, Lyubimovka, and Novoe in the Zaporozhye region. The military notes that air defense systems achieved downing of additional targets in these locations, underscoring a continued focus on denying hostile aerial incursions in multiple fronts.
In another segment of the report, the ministry notes the downing of a drone in the Novaya Kakhovka area, part of the Kherson region. This claim is presented as part of a broader tally of air defense successes during the ongoing operations.
Additionally, the ministry asserted that 17 rockets originating from HIMARS and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems were destroyed. The statement contributes to a larger summary of enemy firepower that was successfully neutralized, reflecting ongoing efforts to limit drone and missile threats.
Across the conflict timeline cited by the defense ministry, figures are given for a wide range of military assets. The entity claims the destruction of 567 aircraft, 265 helicopters, 10,664 unmanned aerial vehicles, and 450 anti-aircraft missile systems since the start of what they describe as a special military operation.
There is a note about an incident on January 12 when a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone reportedly collapsed during evacuation operations in the DPR. The account is presented as a specific event within the broader period of engagement and countermeasures described by officials.
In a separate, earlier statement, Ukrainian authorities were cited as discussing plans to increase drone production, with references to a target of more than a million drones by 2024. The report juxtaposes these stated plans with ongoing countermeasures described by the Russian side to emphasize the scale of drone activity and corresponding defensive responses.