Russia says air defences downed 505 drones overnight, after 399 the night before
In short
Russia's Defence Ministry said air defence forces intercepted and destroyed 505 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Russian regions between 20:00 on Thursday and 08:00 on Friday, October 9. The night before, from 20:00 Moscow time on October 7 to 08:00 on October 8, the ministry reported 399 drones downed over 21 Russian regions and the Black Sea.
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Russia's Defence Ministry said that during the night, from 20:00 on Thursday to 08:00 on Friday, air defence forces intercepted and destroyed 505 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones, Interfax reported on October 9. TASS, RIA Novosti and Kommersant reported the same figure. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
According to the ministry summary cited by Kommersant, the drones were downed over the border regions of Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod and Smolensk and over other regions of Central Russia, as well as over the Astrakhan region, Kuban, Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. Kommersant also reported that nine people were injured as a result of a drone attack in one region and that a fire broke out at a plant in the settlement of Redkino; the region names are missing from the available text. [ 6 ]
A day earlier, the ministry said air defences had intercepted and destroyed 399 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones between 20:00 Moscow time on October 7 and 08:00 on October 8, RIA Novosti, RBC and Vedomosti reported. According to the ministry, those drones were downed over 21 regions and the Black Sea: the Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Orenburg, Penza, Rostov, Ryazan, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Tambov, Tula and Ulyanovsk regions, the Moscow region, Bashkortostan, Crimea and Tatarstan. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Vedomosti reported that from the evening of October 7 Rosaviatsia (Росавиация) restricted operations at the airports of Tambov (Donskoye), Kaluga (Grabtsevo), Penza, Saratov (Gagarin), Gelendzhik, Sochi, Nizhny Novgorod (Chkalov), Krasnodar (Pashkovsky), Samara (Kurumoch), Bugulma, Ufa, Orenburg, Ulyanovsk (Baratayevka), Kazan, Nizhnekamsk (Begishevo), Orsk and Perm (Bolshoye Savino). [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The ministry's figures for the two nights cover areas from the border regions of Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod to Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Crimea, as well as the Black and Azov seas. Vedomosti also reported restrictions at a number of airports from the evening of October 7, including Sochi, Kazan, Samara and Perm.
Key facts
- The Defence Ministry said 505 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were intercepted and destroyed overnight from 20:00 Thursday to 08:00 Friday. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- For the night from 20:00 Moscow time on October 7 to 08:00 on October 8, the ministry reported 399 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones destroyed. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The 399 drones were downed over 21 Russian regions and over the Black Sea, the ministry said. [ 1 , 3 ]
- In the second night, drones were downed over the Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod and Smolensk regions, other regions of Central Russia, the Astrakhan region, Kuban, Crimea and the Black and Azov seas, according to the ministry summary cited by Kommersant. [ 6 ]
- Kommersant reported that nine people were injured in a drone attack in one region and that a fire broke out at a plant in the settlement of Redkino. [ 6 ]
- Vedomosti reported that from the evening of October 7 Rosaviatsia (Росавиация) restricted operations at airports including Tambov, Kaluga, Penza, Saratov, Sochi, Krasnodar, Samara, Ufa, Kazan and Perm. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences destroyed 505 Ukrainian drones overnight into October 9. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences destroyed 399 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight from October 7 to October 8. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The 399 drones were downed over 21 regions, including the Moscow region, Bashkortostan, Crimea and Tatarstan, and over the Black Sea. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Which region the nine people injured in a drone attack were in. Only Kommersant reports the injuries, and the region name is missing from the available text.
- Which region the plant fire in the settlement of Redkino occurred in, and what caused it. Only Kommersant mentions the fire; the available text omits the region and does not state a cause.
- Full list of regions where drones were downed on the night into October 9. The available text names some regions and refers to other regions of Central Russia without listing them.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- October 7: start of the overnight period (Moscow time) for which the ministry reported 399 drones downed. [ 1 , 3 ]
- October 8: end of the overnight period covered by the 399-drone report. [ 1 , 3 ]
- October 8: RIA Novosti reports the ministry's figure of 399 drones downed over 21 regions and the Black Sea. [ 1 ]
- October 8: Vedomosti reports the 399 figure and airport restrictions since the evening of October 7. [ 3 ]
- Thursday, October 8: start of the overnight period for which the ministry reported 505 drones downed. [ 7 ]
- Friday, October 9: end of the overnight period covered by the 505-drone report. [ 7 ]
- October 9: TASS and RIA Novosti report 505 drones downed overnight. [ 4 , 5 ]
- October 9: Kommersant reports the 505 figure, regions affected, nine injured and a plant fire in Redkino. [ 6 ]