Russian drones attack Ukraine on Christmas Eve: air defense downs 29 out of 31 targets

Ukrainian air defense forces successfully repelled a drone attack by Russian troops on Christmas Eve. 

During the night on Christmas, Ukrainian defenders downed 29 Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Rubryka reports, citing the Ukrainian Air Force.

The Russian forces targeted Ukrainian airspace with 31 Shahed-136/131 drones, deploying them from the Chauda and Balaklava (Crimea) areas, along with two aviation missiles. The aerial assault began on Sunday evening and lasted until Monday night.

Military sources report that out of the 31 launched drones, Ukrainian defenders managed to down 29:

Five Russian UAVs were destroyed over the Dnipropetrovsk region by the Air Command "East" late in the evening: two in the Synelnykove area, two in the Dnipro area, and one in Pavlohrad.

Serhii Lysak, the head of the regional military administration, mentioned that the last one caused damage to a storage facility and a grain loader.

In the Dnipro district, debris fell onto the premises of an inactive enterprise, resulting in a one-story building catching fire. However, firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, and no injuries were reported.

The Russians also launched a guided Kh-59 aviation missile from the Zaporizhzhia front and a Kh-31P anti-radar missile from the Black Sea. Both were successfully neutralized.

Additionally, two Russian aircraft were destroyed by the Air Force's anti-aircraft missile units: one Su-34 in the Donetsk region (as reported in the evening) and one Su-30SM over the Black Sea.

Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk expressed gratitude to the soldiers for protecting Ukrainian skies.

"Christ is born! Let's praise him! Thanks to everyone for their combat work!" he wrote.

Russian forces launched another attack with Shahed drones toward Ukraine on the evening of December 24. Initially, reports of drone threats were concentrated in the southern Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, later extending to several other areas.

Explosions were heard in Kropyvnytskyi, where the Air Force also warned of a missile attack. Preliminary information suggests at least two explosions occurred in the city.

Shortly before the explosions, the Air Force alerted Kropyvnytskyi residents that a Russian missile was approaching the city. In the direction of Kropyvnytskyi, Russian UAVs were also launched from the south.

Explosions were also reported in Odesa.