Ukraine claims it downed 60 Russian drones

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine claimed on Thursday that it downed 60 Russian drones in multiple regions, including the capital Kyiv.

The remarks were made by Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, who claimed on Telegram that Russia launched overnight a total of 74 attack drones against the country.

According to him, three Kh-59/69 cruise missiles were also launched by Russia, of which two were shot down by the country’s air defenses.

Oleshchuk said another 14 Russian drones were lost and likely fell on Ukrainian territory.

He went on to say that Ukraine’s air defenses were active over the Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Sumy and Donetsk regions.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said on Telegram that the overnight attack was the third to have taken place in the capital in the past four days, adding that debris caused damage in the city's Holosiivskyi and Desnianskyi districts.

According to him, more than a dozen Russian drones were destroyed over Kyiv, adding that the air alert in the capital lasted for more than five hours and no casualties were recorded.

Local authorities in the Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Sumy and Donetsk regions reported no casualties.

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