The Ukrainian Air Force reported having destroyed at least four dozen attack drones launched by Russian forces in Kyiv and the southern part of Ukraine.
According to Serhiy Popko, the Head of Kyiv’s military administration, Russia fired Iranian-made Shahed-type drones from the occupied Crimea overnight on February 10, 2024. Multiple reports indicated Russia’s drone activity over the regions of Kyiv, Kherson, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, and Mykolaiv.
“Overnight, units of anti-aircraft missile forces, mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Defense Forces of Ukraine, electronic warfare equipment were involved in repelling the air attack. As a result of combat operations, 40 enemy Shaheds were destroyed,” the Ukrainian Air Force shared the details of a drone attack in a post on Telegram.
Meanwhile, 26 more Russia-launched drones were reportedly downed over several southern regions, chiefly over the Mykolaiv region near the Black Sea.
According to preliminary information, the Ukrainian air defense systems were engaged for more than five hours, and the skies over the country’s capital were declared clear before 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) on February 11.
While there no casualties nor destruction in or near Kyiv and the central Cherkasy region were reported, falling debris from a downed drone and the blast wave damaged residential buildings and a gas pipeline in the Mykolaiv region near the Black Sea.
“The priority for the enemy was again the coastal strip of infrastructure and agro-industrial facilities,” the Ukrainian military wrote.
At least one civilian was injured in the southern region of Dnipro, the military confirmed.
Before the recent attack, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited several drone production facilities in the Volga River region of Udmurtia. The minister said that the production of military drones has significantly increased over the past year, though he also admitted there were still some technical issues that needed fixing, as per the state-owned news agency TASS report.
