Russia launches 145 drones at Ukraine overnight, causing damage to six regions. The Russian military allegedly shoots down their own helicopter in Moscow region. Ukraine-operated Patriot air defense systems shoot down more than 100 ballistic missiles in three years.
Russia launches 145 drones at Ukraine overnight, causing damage to six regions
The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 85 out of 145 drones launched by Russia during an overnight attack on Thursday. Forty-nine more disappeared off radar after likely being disabled by electronic warfare systems.
The drones were launched from the area of Russia’s Kursk, Oryol, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea.
The intercepts took place in the country’s north, south, east, and center, the Air Force said.
The drone strike caused damage to the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolayiv and Poltava.
The Air Force and other branches of the Ukrainian military deployed aircraft, surface-to-air missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile groups to repel the attack.
The Kyiv city military administration said there were 30 drones in the airspace on the outskirts and over the capital, 16 of which were shot down and the rest either left the airspace or disappeared off radars. The attack destroyed a private house and triggered fires in the capital. Four people were injured.
A drone strike on Mykolayiv overnight on Thursday injured 10 people and damaged apartment buildings, an administrative building, dozens of garages and several cars, head of the regional military administration, Vitaliy Kim said.
Russia allegedly shoots down own helicopter in Moscow region
The Russian military allegedly shot down one of their own helicopters in the city of Naro-Fominsk in the Moscow region overnight on Thursday, after confusing it with a Ukrainian drone, according to Ukrainian news site Defence Express.
“Due to the low quality of night photography, identification of the aircraft is quite difficult but the rotating blades and the noise don’t leave many other options,” the analysts said based on the nighttime footage posted to social media.
“In addition, one of the videos captures the helicopter outlines more clearly. It remains unclear, however, if it was a civil or a military model,” Defence Express said. Explaining why the helicopter blades were glowing on video, the analysts said: “It’s part of standard lighting equipment alongside aeronautical lights and flashing beacons. Called the blade tip lights, they visualize the contours of the aircraft’s rotor disk.”
Russia’s military only used small machine guns and possibly ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns to fire at the helicopter. It did not use missiles to take down the chopper, the analysts argued.
“It possibly happened because the target was engaged not by air defense troops, but by military personnel from their bases,” the news site said.
A permanent deployment base of the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division, training center of the Frunze military academy, and a military storage facility for fuel and lubricants are among the military installations in Naro-Fominsk.
“The trails left by tracer rounds indicate that the fire was conducted by all troops at the same time,” Defence Express said.
This is not the first case of friendly fire against Russian aircraft after mistaking it for Ukrainian long-range drones, it added. It is unlikely that Russia will acknowledge the incident as friendly fire.
A video posted to social media shows Russian soldiers’ attempts to destroy what looks like a helicopter.
Flights were suspended at the Vnukovo and Kaluga airports.
Russia’s defense ministry said its air defenses had shot down 42 drones over six regions and in Crimea. Russian Telegram channels said that Ukraine had deployed a helicopter-type attack drone by Ukrainian private defense firm Ramzay — the RZ-500.
Ukraine did not comment on the incident.
Ukraine-operated Patriot air defense systems shoot down more than 100 ballistic missiles in three years
Ukraine’s Air Force has shot down more than 100 Russian ballistic missiles over three years of war, head of the Communications Directorate for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, Colonel Yuriy Ihnat said on national television on Thursday.
“Over the three years of the full-scale invasion, [Ukraine] shot down 2,400 Kh-101 and Kalibr and around 100 Iskander-K cruise missiles. As for ballistic missiles: [Ukraine’s air defenses] took down 97 Iskanders [Iskander-M – edit.], including [North Korean] Kn-23 missiles, and 40 Kinzhals,” Ihnat said.
“It’s clear which systems intercept ballistic missiles. Only Patriot air defense missile systems are capable of shooting down ballistic missiles,” he added.
