During the night of 21 December, Ukraine’s Air Defence Forces successfully destroyed 57 Shahed attack UAVs and other types of drones launched by Russia, as well as an S-400 guided missile targeting the Poltava Region from temporarily occupied Donetsk Region.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 113 Shahed drones and other UAVs in total. The attack was countered by anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, mobile fire groups of the Air Force, and Defence Forces.
“By 9:00 a.m., 57 Shahed drones and other UAVs had been confirmed destroyed in Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyy, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhya Regions,” the Air Force reported.
In addition, 56 Russian decoy drones were lost in the area due to the Defence Forces’ countermeasures. No significant damage was reported from these decoys.
However, in Zaporizhzhya and Kharkiv Regions, downed attack UAVs caused damage to private homes, apartment buildings, vehicles, and other property. Emergency services are providing assistance to affected residents.