Ukrainian air defense shot down 70 Russian drones across the country overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Feb. 9.
Drones were shot down over Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Volyn, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa oblasts, the Air Force said on Telegram.
The Air Force also said that it had lost track of 74 decoy drones launched during the attack alongside the combat drones, saying that there were "no negative consequences."
Decoy drones are less deadly, but are much cheaper to manufacture and being combined with other drones in an attempt to overwhelm Ukraine's air defense, Ukraine's intelligence service said last year.
Since the end of last year, Russia has sharply escalated the number of drones attacks launched at Ukraine. In November 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian troops were launching about ten times as many Shahed-type drones at Ukraine compared to the previous fall.
These deadly attacks have forced civilians to live under constant threat and often target critical infrastructure in an attempt to knock out water, heating, or electricity services.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
