After Russian drone barrage, Ukraine replies

Moscow: Russian air defences downed 389 incoming Ukrainian drones, Russia’s Defence Ministry said Wednesday, in what was the largest reported overnight attack on Russian regions and Crimea since Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine more than four years ago.

The drones were stopped over 13 Russian regions as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The attack underlined the growing capability of Ukraine’s domestically developed and manufactured long-range drones. It came a day after Russia fired almost 1,000 drones and 34 missiles at civilian areas of Ukraine in the space of 24 hours, extending its usual nighttime barrage into daylight hours in one of its biggest aerial attacks of the war.

At least six people were killed and around 50 people were injured, Ukrainian authorities said.

The United Nations cultural organization UNESCO on Wednesday said it was “deeply alarmed” by Russia hitting a World Heritage site in the western Ukraine city of Lviv during that bombardment.

The escalation in aerial attacks comes amid a pause in US-mediated talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv, as Washington’s attention is diverted by the Iran war and as Ukraine anticipates a spring offensive by Russia’s bigger army.

Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region north of Moscow, said 56 drones were shot down there, and a fire broke out in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga as the result of Ukraine’s attack.

Ukrainian forces also carried out a missile strike on the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine overnight, damaging energy infrastructure, its Gov. Vyacheslav

Gladkov said.