The remnants of a Russian tank in the Ukraine. Picture: stock
Russia and Ukraine each launched more than 100 attack drones, most of which were intercepted, military officials said.
Ukrainian air defences shot down at least 78 of 105 Russian Shahed drones launched overnight at several regions, including Kyiv, the country’s air force said in an update.
Fifteen regions were targeted, Ukraine said.
“The air attack was repulsed by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and the Defence Forces of Ukraine,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement early Thursday.
It was unclear if there were injuries in Kyiv, Serhiy Popko, head of the city’s administration, said on a social messaging app.
Russia’s air defences shot down some 113 Ukrainian drones in four regions, including the Kursk region, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence.
At least 73 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region, which borders Kharkiv, Ukraine, Moscow said.
Ukrainian officials also said missiles had been fired toward residential areas in Kharkiv, where they struck at least one apartment building.
At least eight people were wounded in that strike, officials said. A 3-year-old child was among the injured, Ihor Terekhov, Kharkiv’s mayor, said online.
It comes as Russia claimed control of a key town in eastern Ukraine after Kyiv’s troops were forced to withdraw from the area after years of fighting.
The attack came as Russian forces reportedly claimed the key town of Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv’s troops retreated from the area after years of fighting.
Vuhledar, in Donetsk, had resisted intense attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Media reports say control of the area, which lies at the intersection of the eastern and southern battlefields, is significant because it will ease Russia’s advance as it tries to pierce deeper behind the Ukrainian defensive lines.
