Air Force: Ukraine downs 87 out of 90 Russian drones overnight

Russia attacked Ukraine with 90 Shahed drones overnight on Jan. 1, and air defense shot down 87 of them, the Air Force reported.

The drones, sent in four waves from the direction of the Black Sea and Crimea, were targeting port infrastructure and residential neighborhoods.

In Odesa Oblast, a 15-year-old boy was killed, three people were hospitalized with injuries and four were treated on the spot, the Odesa regional military administration reported.

One grain terminal in the region was hit. Three high-rise apartment buildings and three homes were damaged by the drones’ debris.

The mass strike ran from the evening until 4 a.m., on the night that Ukraine was celebrating New Year’s Eve, Ukraine's military reported. Air raid alerts were activated in multiple regions.

In Mykolaiv, one drone hit a piece of infrastructure, causing a serious fire, according to the military. It was contained with no casualties reported.

In Vynnytsia Oblast, fragments broke windows and damaged a garage but people were reported unharmed.

Russian forces also attacked Kharkiv Oblast with three S-300 surface-to-air missiles, three anti-radiation missiles and a Kh-59 cruise missile.

Falling debris from a Russian drone in Lviv on Jan. 1 left a local museum dedicated to Ukrainian nationalist Roman Shukhevych on fire, local officials said.

The attack appears to be a follow-up to Dec. 29, when Russia attacked with 158 missiles and drones, the most ever deployed in a single bombardment since the full-scale invasion began. At least 30 people were killed.  

Since 2022, Russia prioritized attacking Ukraine’s electrical system, port infrastructure and civilian neighborhoods with missiles and drones of different models.

Heavy missile barrages became less frequent in 2023, with Russia relying more on Shaheds for its attacks. Ukrainian intelligence had said that the Kremlin’s stockpiles ran low.