Moscow, Aug 2026 : Russia has claimed that its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 250 Ukrainian drones within a 12-hour period, as aerial attacks continue to intensify amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the drones were brought down between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday. The ministry said the Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were intercepted across 19 Russian regions, including areas around Moscow.
The scale of the reported drone activity highlights the growing role of unmanned aerial systems in the conflict, with both Russia and Ukraine increasingly using drones to target military, industrial and infrastructure facilities deep behind the front lines.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin separately said that more than 2,600 drones had approached the Moscow region over the previous week. He claimed that the majority were neutralised by Russian air defence systems before reaching the capital.
Sobyanin said 493 drones had been destroyed while approaching Moscow during the period. Authorities have repeatedly strengthened air defence measures around the capital as Ukrainian drone attacks have increasingly targeted Russian territory.
The latest claims could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian officials have not provided an immediate response to the Russian figures.
The reported drone interceptions came shortly after the Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had captured 11 settlements and conducted a series of major strikes against Ukrainian military and strategic infrastructure during the previous week.
According to the ministry, the settlements were located across the Kharkiv, Donbas and Zaporizhzhia regions. Russian forces reportedly carried out one large-scale strike and nine group attacks targeting Ukrainian defence-related facilities.
The Russian ministry said the strikes hit defence enterprises, logistics centres, energy and transport infrastructure, as well as facilities involved in producing ground robotic systems, drones and associated components.
It also claimed that missile launch positions, ammunition and fuel storage sites, supply facilities and temporary deployment locations used by Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries were targeted.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is preparing for the possibility of continued attacks on its critical infrastructure as winter approaches.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said the government had allocated 35 billion hryvnyas, equivalent to about $785 million, to protect energy infrastructure and improve regional resilience.
Speaking before parliament, Shmyhal said construction of approximately 200 second-level protective monolithic structures had already been completed.
He acknowledged that no defensive system could guarantee complete protection from attacks but said the protective structures would significantly reduce damage and allow affected facilities to be restored within weeks.
The developments underscore the continuing importance of air defence, drone warfare and infrastructure protection as both sides seek to maintain military capabilities while limiting damage to critical national assets.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
