Russia And Kyiv Fire 35 Drones Overnight

Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Feb, 2024) Russia and Ukraine fired a total 35 drones at each other overnight, the two countries' militaries said Friday, as both sides wage nightly attempts to strike targets behind the static frontline.

Russia's military shot down 19 Ukrainian drones over four different regions and the Black Sea, the defence ministry said, while Ukraine said it shot down 10 of 16 drones Russia fired.

Russia's defence ministry said its "air defences had intercepted and destroyed drones in the regions of Kursk (2), Bryansk (5), Oryol (4), Krasnodar (2) and over the Black Sea (6)."

The drones in Oryol, some 170 kilometres (105 miles) from the border with Ukraine, were aimed at energy infrastructure, regional governor Andrei Klychkov wrote on Telegram.

In Krasnodar, rescue services said a fire erupted overnight at an oil refinery in Ilsky, without specifying if the blaze was caused by the drone attack.

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 16 Iranian-made Shahed drones from bases in the annexed Crimean peninsula and the western Kursk region.

"As a result of combat operations, 10 Shaheds were destroyed in Mykolaiv, Kherson and Kharkiv regions," it said in a statement.

In recent months, Ukraine has upped drone attacks against Russian territory, mainly targeting border regions, but also the capital Moscow and the northern city of Saint Petersburg.

It has struck a number of energy facilities in what Kyiv has called "fair" retribution for Moscow's own targeting of power stations across Ukraine.

Ukraine has been under persistent aerial bombardment by Russian forces for nearly two years and has appealed to allies in the West to bolster its defensive systems. Thousands of people are estimated to have died in the assaults.