Russia announces downing hundreds of Ukrainian drones

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that it had shot down 251 Ukrainian drones overnight, describing the attack as one of the largest aerial assaults by Ukraine since the war between the two countries began more than three years ago.

In a statement on Telegram, the ministry said that Russian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed the drones, noting that 40 were downed over the Crimean Peninsula, along with dozens more over the regions of Kursk, Belgorod, and other areas.

Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, reported that Ukrainian shelling during the night caused damage to the power infrastructure, leading to power outages affecting thousands of residents.

Gladkov added that emergency and engineering teams had restored electricity to about 34,000 consumers by Monday morning, but around 5,400 people in 24 residential areas remained without power.

The Belgorod region, like other Russian areas bordering Ukraine, has been frequently targeted by cross-border shelling and drone attacks since the expansion of the war launched by Moscow in 2022.

So far, Kyiv has not issued any official statement regarding the latest attack, although both Russia and Ukraine assert that their strikes primarily target infrastructure related to the war effort of the opposing side.