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Air Force: Ukraine downs all 24 Russian drones overnight

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Air Force: Ukraine downs all 24 Russian drones overnight
Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the unit of the mobile air defense group shoot down enemy drones using the ZU-23-2 Soviet 23-mm twin anti-aircraft gun in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on April 16, 2024. (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

Ukrainian air defenses shot down all 24 Shahed-type attack drones launched during a Russian attack overnight on May 22, Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said.

The drones were reportedly launched from the Russian port town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, located on the coast of the Sea of Azov, from occupied Crimea, and from Russia's Kursk Oblast.

Aircraft, missile and electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force intercepted the drones over Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Sumy, and Odesa oblasts, Oleshchuk said.

Russian troops reportedly conducted an air strikes on the towns of Shostka and Konotop in Sumy Oblast overnight, leaving a number of settlements without electricity.

Drone attacks are a daily occurrence in Ukraine, affecting various regions across the country. In recent months, Russia has intensified attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, launching massive drone and missile strikes targeting critical facilities.

Explainer: Iran’s cheap, effective Shahed drones and how Russia uses them in Ukraine
Editor’s note: This story initially said that Shahed-136 drones are said to weigh 10-15 kilograms. It was corrected since that is the weight of the warhead, and the drones weigh about 200 kilograms. Iran’s massive aerial assault on Israel over the weekend felt close to home for Ukraine. In a
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Kateryna Denisova

News Editor

Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.

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