UPDATE - Russia, Ukraine report downing dozens of drones overnight

ADDS UKRAINIAN CLAIMS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Alperen Aktaş

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia and Ukraine on Thursday said they downed dozens of drones overnight, claiming successful air defenses amid continued hostilities.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 83 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions.

According to the ministry, 37 drones were shot down over the Bryansk region, while 12 were intercepted over the Kursk and Lipetsk regions. Nine drones were also downed in the Tver region, and three each over the Belgorod, Kaluga, Smolensk, and Voronezh regions. One drone was intercepted over the Rostov region, the ministry said.

The ministry did not provide details on any potential damage or casualties.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said it intercepted 85 Russian Shahed-type and other drones launched overnight from multiple directions, including Oryol, Kursk, Bryansk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.

Kyiv said air defenses, including aviation, air defense missile forces, and electronic warfare units, engaged the incoming drones. It confirmed drone interceptions over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa regions.

As many as 52 Russian drones failed to reach their intended targets and were “lost in location” without causing damage, according to Ukraine.

The military said the attacks caused damage in the Odesa and Kharkiv regions.