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Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it had shot down 126 Ukrainian drones, 64 of which were destroyed over the Volgograd region.
| Photo: AP - for representative purposes only
Russia and Ukraine traded heavy aerial blows overnight Saturday, with both sides reporting more than 100 enemy drones over their respective territories, AP reported.
The attack occurred less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the details of an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the ongoing war with Ukraine. Volgograd regional Governor Andrei Bocharov confirmed that debris from a falling drone caused a fire in the Krasnoarmeysky district near a Lukoil oil refinery, though no additional information was provided.
Nearby airports temporarily suspended flights, according to local media, but no casualties were reported. The Volgograd refinery has been targeted multiple times by Ukrainian forces since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began more than three years ago, with the most recent attack occurring on February 15.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it had shot down 126 Ukrainian drones, 64 of which were destroyed over the Volgograd region. Drones were also shot down over the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk, Rostov and Kursk regions, officials said to AP.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Russia had launched a barrage of 178 drones and two ballistic missiles over the country overnight. The barrage was a mixture of Shahed-type attack drones and imitation drones designed to confuse air defenses. Some 130 drones were shot down, while 38 more were lost en route to their targets.
Russia attacked energy facilities, causing significant damage, said Ukraine’s private energy company DTEK.
Russia struck energy infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, DTEK said in a statement on Saturday. Some residents were left without electricity.
“The damage is significant. Energy workers are already working on the ground. We are doing everything possible to restore power to homes as soon as possible,” the energy firm said to AP.