Ukrainian Forces Intercept 56 Russian Drones in Overnight Attack

Ukrainian air defence systems intercepted 56 Russian drones during an overnight attack on various regions of Ukraine, with a total of 108 drones launched by Russia.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported the details of the attack via Telegram. According to their statement, starting from 7:00 PM on 14th December, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using a S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile and 108 strike unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Shahed type, along with other types of drones. The launches originated from areas within Russia, including Kursk, Orel, Bryansk and Millerovo.

As of 8:30 AM on 15th December, units of anti-aircraft missile troops, aviation, electronic warfare (EW) systems, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force and Defence Forces had successfully shot down 56 of the enemy drones. The interceptions took place across multiple regions of Ukraine: Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk.

The report also indicates that 49 of the launched drones were listed as “locationally lost,” meaning they did not reach their intended targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures or other factors. Additionally, three drones returned to Russian territory.

The downing of the drones, however, did have consequences on the ground. Due to falling debris from the intercepted UAVs, damage was reported to an infrastructure object, as well as to apartment buildings, private houses, vehicles, and personal property of citizens in several Ukrainian regions. Assistance is being provided to those affected by the damage.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, the city of Mykolaiv experienced damage to an infrastructure facility and two workers were injured as a result of a separate attack involving a Russian Shahed-type drone. This underscores the continued threat posed by Russian drone attacks on civilian areas.