Russian air defenses shoot down 163 Ukrainian drones

Published at: 09/03/2026 09:10 AM

At least 163 Ukrainian attack drones were shot down in the European part of the Russian Federation on the night of Sunday to Monday, the Ministry of Defense reported, as reported by Sputnik.

The vast majority of these drones, 54, were destroyed in the Bryansk region; 47 more were intercepted over the Crimean Peninsula; another 16, in the province of Krasnodar; 11, in that of Kaluga; eight, in that of Novgorod; five, in that of Belgorod.

Likewise, four, on the Black Sea; four, in the Smolensk region; three in the Voronezh region; three, in the Republic of Adygeya; two, in the Rostov region; two, on the Sea of Azov; one, in the region of Astrakhan; one, in that of Volgograd; one, in that of Orlov; and one more, in that of Tver, specified the military body.

For its part, the national air transport agency, Rosaviatsia, reported temporary flight restrictions at Kaluga and Pskov airports on the night of Sunday to Monday, for security reasons.

At the end of February 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, according to President Vladimir Putin, to protect the population of Donbas from “genocide by the Kiev regime” and to address the national security risks posed by the advance of the North Atlantic Organization (NATO) to the east.

Drone attacks launched from Ukraine against military targets and civilian infrastructure in the Russian rear have since become common practice.

Mazo News Team