Ukraine’s air defences neutralise 123 of 135 Russian drones launched overnight — 52 were jet-powered

KYIV, 4 October — Ukraine’s Air Force announced on Sunday that Russia launched 135 attack drones against Ukrainian territory overnight, as The Kyiv Independent reports, based on the daily air-defence report. The attacking wave included Shahed drones, 52 of them jet-powered, as well as Gerbera, Banderol/Dan-T and Parody decoy drones.

According to the announcement, the drones were launched from the Russian cities of Orel, Kursk, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, as well as from the occupied territories in Donetsk and Crimea, through the Hvardiiske area.

By 08:30 local time, Ukrainian air defences had shot down or neutralised 123 enemy drones — more than nine-tenths of the attacking wave. Hits were recorded in five locations, while debris from downed drones fell in five other places.

The Air Force stresses that the attack was still ongoing at the time of reporting, with several Russian drones still in Ukrainian airspace, and urged citizens to carefully follow safety rules and the authorities’ instructions during air-raid alerts.

Last night’s attack follows a similar wave the night before, when air defences neutralised 131 of the 157 Russian drones launched against the country.

The wreckage of a downed Russian Gerbera drone (archive photo).