Kyiv launches more than 100 drones over Russia as missile strike in Ukraine injures 17

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – The Russian air force shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones Sunday in western Russia, officials in Moscow said, and 17 people were injured in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih during the missile attack.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said 110 drones were destroyed in a nighttime airstrike that hit seven Russian regions. Many were headed for the Russian border region of Kursk, where 43 drones were reportedly shot down.

Pictures on social media appeared to show air defenses at work over the city of Dzerzhinsk in Nizhny Novgorod region, near an explosives factory.

Local government official Gleb Nikitin posted on social media on Sunday that four firefighters were injured repelling a drone attack in the Dzerzhinsk industrial area, but did not provide further details.

Such a large-scale airstrike remains a rarity in Russia 2 1/2 years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A similar attack at the end of September saw the Russian Ministry of Defense report the destruction of 125 drones in seven regions.

Meanwhile, 17 people were injured in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih after two Russian missiles hit the city, officials said Sunday.

The attack on Saturday evening destroyed homes and businesses, said the head of local administration Oleksandr Vilkul.

Ukraine’s military said Russia launched 49 drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles in total overnight. It said 31 drones were shot down in 12 locations, including the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and another 13 disappeared from radar – indicating they were taken out by electronic defense.

In a statement released on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia launched about 800 aerial bombs and more than 500 drones in Ukraine last week alone.

“Every day, Russia is attacking our cities and communities. It is deliberate fear from the enemy of our people,” he said, renewing the call for continued air support from the country’s allies.

“United in defense, the world can withstand this storm that is targeted.”

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