Ukraine defences destroy 15 Russian drones during an attack that took place overnight

During an overnight attack, Ukraine’s defenses successfully neutralized 15 Russian drones, as announced by Kyiv’s air force in a statement on Saturday (August 19).

Providing further insights, the statement revealed that the assault involved 17 Shahed drones of Iranian origin. However, it did not elaborate on the fate of the remaining two drones.

Russian forces launched their offensive “from the north using ‘Shahed-136/131′ attack UAVs. A total of 17 attack drones were deployed from the Kursk region,” the Ukrainian force conveyed through Telegram.

The air defenses were activated across “northern and central, as well as western regions.”

“In collaboration with other components of the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ air defense systems, the Air Force effectively destroyed 15 enemy drones,” the statement affirmed.

On Friday (August 18), Russian forces reported the downing of a Ukrainian drone, which was allegedly targeted at Moscow and the Black Sea Fleet. The drone, according to reports, disrupted air traffic at Moscow’s civilian airports.

The Russian defense ministry and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin both confirmed that no casualties resulted from the air defense’s successful interception of the drone. The drone’s descent led it to impact a non-residential structure within the capital city’s Expo Center complex.

The defense ministry explained, “Upon encountering air defense weaponry, the UAV altered its flight trajectory and descended onto a non-residential building along Krasnopresnenskaya embankment in Moscow,” via Telegram.

Sergei Sobyanin added, also through Telegram, that the drone’s wreckage caused minimal harm to the Expo Centre building.

According to the state-run news agency TASS, one of the pavilion walls within the venue experienced partial collapse, spanning an area of around 30 square meters (approximately 323 square feet), as confirmed by emergency services.

TASS also reported that aviation services temporarily closed the airspace near Vnukovo International Airport, leading to flight delays for both arrivals and departures.