Russia, Ukraine claim shooting down each other's drones

By Ramin Abdullayev

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) – Russia and Ukraine claimed on Sunday that they shot down each other's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with Kyiv reporting one casualty in the southwestern Odesa region.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that its forces shot down 35 Ukrainian drones in the regions of Lipetsk, Rostov, and Volgograd.

Ukraine attempted drone attacks on Russian facilities overnight and this morning, the ministry claimed, adding that air defense systems shot down 33 UAVs in three regions' airspace last night and destroyed two aircraft-type UAVs in the Volgograd region this morning.

Earlier on Sunday, Ukraine claimed shooting down nine Russian UAVs attempting to attack the port city of Odesa, resulting in one fatality.

Oleg Kiper, the head of the military administration of the southwestern Odesa region​​​​​​​, stated on his social media account that the downed UAVs caused fires at three points and that extinguishing efforts took more than four hours.

According to Kiper, this was the third Russian army attack on Odesa in one week.

Kiper claimed that nine UAVs were downed during the overnight Russian attack, and "a fire broke out in some houses and warehouses. A body of a person was found at the scene."

A separate statement issued by the Ukrainian army's Southern Operational Command claimed that the Russian army sent 16 Iranian-made "Shahed" via Crimea. The type of UAV was said to have been destroyed by air defense systems.

Ukrainian media reported air attacks on Kyiv, Kherson, and some regions on Saturday.