kyiv announces it has shot down 34 drones in a new Russian night attack

Ukraine announced on Thursday, December 21, that it had suffered a new series of night attacks from Russia. They took place “in waves” during the night and were carried out by 35 Shahed drones coming from Chauda (in occupied Crimea), from Primorsko-Akhtarsk (on the eastern shore of the Sea of ​​Azov), as well as from Kursk, a Russian city close to the northern border of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram messaging. Thirty-four of the 35 drones were shot down, she added. The Air Force did not report any casualties or damage.

Russia launches drone and missile attacks against Ukraine almost every night. kyiv accuses the Kremlin of seeking to terrorize the civilian population and destroy its energy infrastructure in order, like last winter, to plunge the population into darkness and cold. At the end of 2022, millions of people were left without power in the middle of a cold spell, which Ukraine wants to avoid at all costs this year. kyiv has since reinforced its air defense systems with Western weapons, which allow it to destroy the majority of explosive drones or missiles sent by Russia.