The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Jan. 11 that its air defense had intercepted or destroyed 85 Ukrainian drones flying into Russia overnight.
In one of the regions that Moscow claimed it successfully countered a Ukrainian drone attack, the local authorities said that a drone crashed into two five-floor apartment buildings in the town of Kotovsk in western Russia. The damage was minimal, but three people were lightly injured by broken glass, according to Tambov Oblast Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify all of the claims.
Using its homemade drones, Ukraine has targeted military sites, airfields, and oil refineries deep in Russia to counter a much larger foe by trying to disrupt logistics in the rear. The Ukrainian side rarely reveals information about its attacks in Russia, making it difficult to assess the scale of the attacks.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that 31 drones were destroyed over the Black Sea, 16 over Voronezh Oblast and Krasnodar Krai, 14 over the Azov Sea, four over Belgorod Oblast, two over Tambov Oblast, one over Kursk Oblast, and one over the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
The intense Ukrainian long-range drone attacks over 2024 showed Russian air defense vulnerabilities.
"From what we can tell — it's no longer a secret — Ukrainian long-range unmanned aerial vehicles can hypothetically operate up to 2,000 kilometers," Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on Dec. 27, 2024.
In turn, Russia regularly targets Ukrainian cities, villages, and infrastructure with drones and missiles, often resulting in civilian casualties. Two civilians were killed and 12 injured over the past day, Ukrainian authorities said.
Kateryna Hodunova
