Night-time drone warfare: Moscow shoots down 57 Ukrainian aircraft

Another chapter unfolds in the ongoing night-time drone war between Russia and Ukraine.

The Russian news agency TASS reported on Sunday, citing the daily briefing from the Russian Ministry of Defence, that Russian air defence systems had destroyed 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defence released footage on Sunday showing drone units from the Russian “West” group of forces destroying several vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces as they attempted to break into the city of Kupiansk.

In its statement, the ministry said: “Drone units are conducting precise strikes on vehicles carrying fighters from the Ukrainian armed forces who attempted to storm the city of Kupiansk.”

The statement added: “Within just a few days, drone strikes destroyed dozens of Ukrainian military vehicles heading toward the city.”

The ministry confirmed that drone units from the “West” group are preventing the Ukrainian armed forces from delivering personnel, ammunition, and supplies to the encircled units in the Kupiansk sector.

On Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defence had stated that its forces continued to destroy Ukrainian units trapped near Kupiansk, noting that within just 24 hours, the Ukrainian army had lost up to 50 soldiers and 15 pieces of weaponry and military equipment in the area.

Kupiansk is a key city for the Ukrainian armed forces in the eastern part of the Kharkiv region. It lies on the Oskol River, which divides it in two, and capturing it would allow the Russian army to continue its advance westward.

Last Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that its forces had fully taken control of the eastern part of the city of Kupiansk.