Russia says 61 Ukrainian drones shot down overnight across multiple regions

Moscow: The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday stated that its air defences shot down 61 Ukrainian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) over several Russian regions overnight.

“On-duty air defences intercepted and destroyed 61 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles between 8 pm and 7 am. Moscow time, 22 over the Oryol Region, 14 over the Kursk Region, seven over the Belgorod Region, five over the Voronezh Region, three over the Volgograd Region, three over the Rostov Region, three over the Tula Region, three over the Bryansk Region and one over the Moscow Region,” read the statement.

The Voronezh Region Governor, Alexander Gusev mentioned on Telegram that the drones had been destroyed over the city of Voronezh and on the region’s border, adding that there were no casualties or damage as per the preliminary reports.

Bryansk Region Governor Alexander Bogomaz stated that there were no casualties or damage in the region. “Response teams are working on the ground,” Bogomaz wrote on Telegram.

Meanwhile, in an interview with British media outlet Sky News, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has no plans to lose its strategic advantage over Ukraine by agreeing to a ceasefire.

“Now we have a strategic advantage. Why should we lose it? We are not going to lose it. We are going further. We’re advancing and we’ll continue to advance,” he stated.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it will only agree to a ceasefire if Kyiv stops receiving foreign military aid, as any pause in hostilities would allow Ukraine to rearm and regroup its forces.

Stressing that Russia would not take advantage of a potential ceasefire, Peskov said, “A ceasefire is a ceasefire, and you stop.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he was ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a “final phase” of negotiations, but again questioned his Ukrainian counterpart’s legitimacy.

“I am even ready to meet him (Zelensky) but only if it is some kind of final phase,” he said at a press conference with foreign media in St. Petersburg.

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