Russia’s Defense Ministry reported intercepting and downing 660 Ukrainian drones overnight in coordinated strikes across 12 Russian regions, including Moscow, Crimea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov [1, 2, 3]. The attack involved a "massive" assault on the Tula region where a house was damaged and a woman injured, according to Dmitry Milyaev, governor of Tula [2, 3].
An industrial facility in Novomoskovsk, the Azot plant, was damaged during the strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the plant as critical to Russia’s explosives production [2]. Kyiv has been deploying long-range drones to target Russian fuel supplies, energy infrastructure, and military logistics deep inside Russia and occupied territories [1, 2].
In response, Ukraine’s Air Force claimed to have shot down 177 out of 189 drones launched by Russia in overnight counterstrikes [3]. Local Ukrainian authorities reported Russian drone attacks causing injuries and damage in Zaporizhzhia and other regions overnight [3].
Russian officials denied reports that Moscow sought military assistance from Belarus despite concerns the Kremlin might involve Belarus more directly in the conflict [2].
The scale of the overnight drone strikes marks one of the largest Ukrainian drone operations since the full-scale war began over four years ago [1, 2]. There is disagreement over the total number of Ukrainian drones launched overnight. Some sources claim Ukraine launched over 660 drones, while others say Ukraine and Russia each launched about 189 drones during the clashes [1, 2, 3].
Russia’s Defense Ministry gave its update on the drone interceptions and damage today, June 26, following the intense overnight attacks [1, 2, 3]. Ukraine’s Air Force also released details of their counterstrike drone interceptions on the same day [3].
