Ukraine claims it downed 51 air targets launched by Russia over multiple regions

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine claimed on Wednesday that it downed 51 air targets launched by Russia over multiple regions of the country overnight.

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on Telegram that air defenses shot down a cruise missile and 50 attack drones launched from Russia’s border regions of Kursk and Voronezh.

Oleshchuk said the targets were downed over the Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kherson, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions.

He said 72 air targets launched from Russian regions bordering Ukraine were detected in total, adding that another 16 Russian drones were lost after they “probably fell under the influence of radio-electronic means of countermeasures.”

He said that forces detected a drone crossing into Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region from neighboring Belarus, while another Russian drone returned to Belgorod region.

Oleshchuk said a Russian drone was still over the central Cherkasy region as of 11:15 a.m. local time (0815GMT), and that work to take it out continues.

In Vinnytsia, the region's military administration reported damage to a civil infrastructure building and a residential building.

Local authorities in other regions reported no casualties or damages in their respective regions.​​​​​​​

Russian authorities have not yet commented on Ukraine’s claims.