Russia Claims It Shot Down More Than 1,000 Ukrainian Drones in 24 Hours
Moscow. Russian air defense systems shot down 1,045 Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours, along with one Neptune-MD guided missile and one Flamingo cruise missile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
According to the ministry, Russian forces also intercepted eight guided aerial bombs and U.S.-made HIMARS rockets during the same period.
Russian state news agency TASS reported that the Black Sea Fleet destroyed six unmanned Ukrainian naval boats. The Defense Ministry also said Russian forces carried out strikes on drone assembly sites, temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations, and locations used by foreign mercenaries fighting on Ukraine’s side.
Earlier on Sunday, the ministry said its air defense systems had shot down 556 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones overnight. The latest figures brought the total number of drones reportedly destroyed within 24 hours to more than 1,000.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said more than 120 drones had been downed over the Russian capital region in the past 24 hours. TASS described the incident as the largest drone attack on Moscow in more than a year.
According to Russian officials, several residential areas around Moscow were damaged, while airport operations were also temporarily affected. Reports from Russian authorities said casualties were recorded in the Moscow region and Belgorod region.
Ukraine has often described such long-range attacks as a response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Moscow, however, has accused Kyiv of targeting civilian areas.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified immediately.
The latest escalation shows that the Russia–Ukraine war is increasingly shifting toward large-scale drone and long-range missile operations. Both sides have intensified attacks on military infrastructure, energy facilities, industrial sites and border regions, further expanding the technological and geographical scope of the conflict.
