Russia: 791 Ukrainian Drones Intercepted in Massive Overnight Attack

By Staff, Agencies

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 791 Ukrainian drones overnight, in another large-scale wave of attacks as Kiev expands long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory.

The latest attack came days after Russia reported one of the largest Ukrainian drone assaults since the start of the conflict, saying 822 UAVs were intercepted overnight on August 15–16 across several Russian regions and around Moscow.

That attack affected multiple locations, including the Moscow region, where a major Wildberries distribution facility caught fire, while Russian authorities reported casualties in Moscow and Rostov regions. Kiev has said Russian military logistics and production facilities are among its long-range targets.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have increasingly targeted military-industrial infrastructure farther from the front, including the Kamensky Combine in Rostov, which Kiev says produces rocket fuel.

The growing scale of drone attacks reflects the two sides’ increasing reliance on long-range UAVs as fighting along much of the roughly 1,250-kilometer front remains largely stagnant.

Ukraine has expanded domestic drone production and increasingly used long-range UAVs against Russian energy, logistics, and military-industrial sites hundreds of kilometers from the battlefield. Russia has likewise intensified long-range strikes on Ukrainian military, industrial, and energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz said its facilities had been targeted 13 times over the past week amid the escalating exchange of drones and missiles.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s figures on the number of drones intercepted overnight could not be independently verified.