Russian air defence intercepts 155 Ukrainian drones, two people killed

Russian air defence systems intercepted 155 Ukrainian drones overnight, with two people killed by drones. Photo / Getty Images

Russian air defence systems intercepted 155 Ukrainian drones in an overnight barrage, the defence ministry said today, with local officials saying at least two people were killed by drones.

From 11pm Thursday to 7am Friday local time, “air defence systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 155 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type”, the ministry said on Telegram, adding that 53 of the drones were shot down over the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

Earlier, the governor of the western Lipetsk region said one person died after a drone crashed into a farming area.

“Tonight, a drone crashed into the territory of one of the agricultural enterprises of Khlevensky district,” Igor Artamonov wrote on Telegram. The district is about 400km south of Moscow.

“As a result, a fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished,” he said, adding that one person died and another was wounded.

One other person was killed and another wounded in a drone attack on Russia’s western Tula region, Governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Telegram.

In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, on the border with Russia, a Russian strike hit the city of Chuguiv early today, destroying two private homes and damaging a hospital building, Mayor Galyna Minaeva wrote on Facebook.

Three people were wounded, Minaeva said.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said on Telegram on Friday morning local time that at least 28 people, including two minors, were wounded in Russian shelling on Thursday.

Over the past week, Moscow has pummelled Ukraine with the largest drone and missile barrages since it sent troops into its neighbour in February 2022.

- Agence France-Presse