Kyiv said on Wednesday that Moscow had launched dozens of Iranian-designed attack drones toward Ukraine overnight from southern Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, in its latest aerial barrage.
Officials in Kyiv say that Russian forces have been stockpiling drones and missiles for systematic attacks on Ukraine’s struggling energy grid over the winter months.
“A total of 48 Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs were launched,” the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement, adding that defensive systems had downed 41 of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure last winter left millions in the cold and dark for extended periods.
Kyiv has since bolstered its air defense systems with Western arms but conceded that it needs more weapons to protect vulnerable regions.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
