On the 960th day of war in Ukraine, Russian air defense units say they have destroyed 47 Ukrainian drones targeting their west, apparently without casualties, according to regional authorities.
Approximately 24 drones out of the 47 were shot down over the southwestern border region of Bryansk, and the rest were destroyed over the regions of Belgorod, Kursk, Rostov, Krasnodar, and the waters of the Sea of Azov.
Part of the Russian region of Bryansk, bordering Belarus, Ukraine, and the Russian region of Kursk, is under a state of emergency following the detonation of explosive materials.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army claims to have shot down 21 drones launched by Russia during the previous night.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is traveling to Croatia to attend a Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit aimed at showing "the region's support for the Ukrainian people" and providing military assistance to the troops facing Russian advances on the eastern front.
Russian Drone Attack in Ukrainian Region of Odesa Injures Five
A Russian drone attack in the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa caused five injuries and damaged an apartment building, as reported by the regional governor Oleh Kiper on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Governor Oleh Kiper stated that the attack caused a fire in an unfinished building, which has been extinguished, and damaged the windows and facade of the nine-story apartment building and the windows of a medical center.
The Ukrainian army reported shooting down 21 out of the 22 drones launched by Russia overnight, with Russia also launching three ballistic missiles at the Poltava region in central Ukraine.
Regional governor Filip Pronin stated that the attack damaged an industrial facility but did not affect civilian infrastructure, with no reported casualties.
State of Emergency Declared in Part of Russian Bryansk Region After Explosions
A state of emergency was declared on Wednesday in a district of the western Russian Bryansk region following the detonation of explosive materials, as reported by the state news agency TASS, citing Reuters.
The Bryansk region borders Belarus, Ukraine, and the Russian Kursk region, where Moscow has been fighting since August to expel Ukrainian troops.
Russia Claims to Have Shot Down 47 Ukrainian Drones
The Russian army announced on Wednesday that they had shot down 47 Ukrainian drones overnight, with nearly half of them over the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, as reported by AFP.
"During the night, attempts by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist attacks with aerial drones against locations on Russian territory were thwarted," stated the Defense Ministry in a release.
Anti-aircraft defense systems intercepted and destroyed 47 Ukrainian drones, with 24 of them over the Bryansk region, according to the same source.
Additionally, 5 drones were shot down over the Belgorod region and 2 over the Kursk region, also bordering Ukraine; two devices were destroyed in the Rostov region near the Ukrainian border, one in the Krasnodar region (southwest), and another 13 over the Sea of Azov, the statement added.
Russia announces almost daily that they have destroyed Ukrainian drones launched against their territory, while Kiev claims these attacks, often targeting energy facilities, are in response to Russian bombings that have plunged Ukraine into mourning for over two years.