Russia says it downs 51 Ukrainian drones overnight

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(Reuters) – Russia’s air defence units destroyed or intercepted 51 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said early on Sunday.

Eighteen of the drones were intercepted over the Tambov region, some 450 km (280 miles) southeast of Moscow, the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. Another 16 were destroyed over the Belgorod border region and the rest over the Voronezh, Oryol and Kursk regions in Russia’s south.

One woman was moderately injured as a result of the drone attack on Belgorod, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram. He added that a few cars were also damaged.

Tambov Governor Maxim Yegorov said a Ukrainian drone fell onto the Michurinsky district, sparking a short-lived fire but causing no injuries or material damage.

The Russian defence ministry reports only how many drones its units destroy, not how many Ukraine launches. Russian officials also rarely disclose the full scale of damage inflicted by the attacks, especially when they involve military or energy infrastructure.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has often said its attacks inside Russia target infrastructure key to Russian war efforts and are in response to Moscow’s continued strikes on Ukrainian territory.

(This story has been refiled to remove an extraneous word from the headline)

(Reporting by Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Ron Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Jamie Freed and William Mallard)