Ukraine downs 50 of 73 Russian drones in overnight attack, Air Force says
Ukraine shot down 50 of the 73 drones launched by Russia overnight on Nov. 24, the Air Force reported.
Russia reportedly targeted Ukraine with Shahed drones and an unspecified type of drone launched from the Russian oblasts of Oryol and Bryansk.
The drones were downed over Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Zhytomyr oblasts, according to the Air Force. There have been no reports of casualties or damage.
As of 9 a.m. local time, four Russian drones remained in Ukrainian airspace, with combat operations ongoing.
Kyiv authorities reported in the morning that air defense forces shot down more than a dozen drones targeting the capital.
"Preliminary reports indicate no damage in the capital, and no information about casualties has been received," the Kyiv City Military Administration wrote on Telegram.
Russia has increased large-scale drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, depleting Ukraine's air defense systems and targeting critical infrastructure.
On Nov. 17, Russian forces launched one of the heaviest aerial strikes of the full-scale war, primarily targeting the energy grid. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 102 of the 120 missiles and 42 of the 90 drones launched overnight.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), reported on Nov. 18 that Russian forces are using cheap decoy drones with foreign components to overload Ukraine's air defense systems.
According to HUR, Russian manufacturers produce the Gerbera drone — a cheaper and less deadly equivalent of Iran's Shahed — at a plant in Yelabuga, in the Republic of Tatarstan, central Russia. These drones are reportedly made with components from the United States, China, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Alisa Yurchenko
