Air Defense repelled a nighttime attack: 57 drones neutralized
On the night of December 16, Russian forces carried out a massive attack on Ukraine using strike drones from several directions, with the main strikes targeting the eastern and southern regions of the country.
This was reported on the Telegram channel of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Air defense forces managed to disrupt most of the enemy’s plans by destroying a significant number of aerial targets. Despite this, some drones still reached ground targets, delivering additional strikes on Ukrainian territory.
According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the enemy deployed 69 strike unmanned aerial vehicles of the Shahed type, “Gerbera,” and other models. The launches were carried out from the areas of Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Millerovo in the Russian Federation, as well as from the “Hvardiiske” airfield located in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea.
Approximately 40 of these drones were Shaheds, which Russia systematically uses for nighttime mass attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. This attack pattern indicates an attempt by the enemy to exhaust Ukraine’s air defense system and identify its weak points.
As of 09:00, air defense forces had shot down or suppressed 57 enemy drones of the Shahed, “Gerbera,” and other types over the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine.
At the same time, impacts by 10 strike drones were recorded at seven different locations, indicating the large-scale and dispersed nature of the attack.
