In a recent statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones over seven regions in southern Russia.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, the ministry described these actions as thwarting Kiev‘s attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on Russian facilities using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
“Last night, our air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 20 fixed-wing drones,” stated the ministry. Notably, nine of these drones were brought down over the Saratov region, with two each in the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Tula regions, and one drone each in the Oryol and Ryazan regions.
Roman Busargin, the Governor of the Saratov region, confirmed that the air defenses had successfully neutralized drone activity during the early hours of Monday.
He also mentioned reports of drone debris causing damage to residential buildings in the cities of Saratov and Engels.
The authenticity of these claims remains unverified as independent sources have not yet confirmed the details.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has called on Belarus to withdraw its forces and military equipment from the border, as reported by Russia Today’s website.
According to intelligence reports cited by the Ukrainian ministry, Minsk has been amassing a large number of personnel, particularly special operations forces, weapons, and military equipment in the Gomel region near Ukraine’s northern border.
The statement from Kiev emphasized that Ukraine would not take any unfriendly actions but urged Minsk to pull back its forces beyond the range of Belarusian artillery systems.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko previously stated that Ukrainian drones, presumed to be for attack purposes, were shot down over Belarusian territory on August 9.
Additional drones were destroyed over Russia, which he described as a provocation that “will not go unanswered.” Lukashenko ordered an enhancement of Belarusian military presence along the border in response.
Lukashenko later claimed that the border between the two republics is “more mined than ever before.”
