Strikes Hit Ukraine After Large-Scale Drone Attack On Russia (Photos)

File image.

Late on September 20, the Russian military thwarted a large-scale attack with suicide drones that was launched by Kiev forces.

In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that air defenses had intercepted 19 drones over the Black Sea and Crimea and another three over the Belgorod, Kursk and Oryol regions.

“An attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack on facilities on Russian soil with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles was thwarted. Air defense forces destroyed 19 Ukrainian UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] over the Black Sea and the Republic of Crimes and three more over the Kursk, Belgorod and Oryol regions,” the statement reads.

Russian media didn’t report casualties or material losses in any region as a result of the large-scale Ukrainian drone attack.

The response to the attack came quickly. Early on September 21, a series of blasts rocked the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and several other regions, including Lviv, Rivne, Kharkov, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia and Khmelnitsky.

Ukrainian media reported that the Russian military launched several missile strikes. The Ukrainian Air Force later claimed in a statement that its air defenses intercepted 36 out of 43 Russian cruise missiles which were launched from ten strategic bombers.

“The Russian invaders attacked Ukraine with Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 air-based cruise missiles. The total number of missiles reported was 43 cruise missiles fired from the strategic bomber aircraft T-95MS from the area west of Engels,” the air force said.

It added: “Missiles were launched in several waves. They entered the airspace of Ukraine from different directions, constantly changing their course along the route.”

Despite these claims, photos that surfaced online showed several hits. In addition, power was lost after the strikes in Kiev, Kharkov and Rivne.

Ukraine stepped up attacks on Russian territory in recent weeks in an attempt to make up for the failure of its counteroffensive. While some of these attacks resulted in losses, they ultimately failed to distract the Russian military or mount any real pressure on Moscow.

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