Late on 4 December, Russia launched more Iranian-made Shahed-series explosive drones, targeting various Ukrainian regions. Ukraine’s Air Defense says the country’s air defenders shot down ten of 17 Shaheds in the early hours of 5 December.

“Overnight into 5 December 2023, the enemy attacked with Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs from two directions, Kursk region (north, – Ed.) and Primorsko-Akhtarsk (southeast, – Ed.), Russia, as well as with S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles, which were directed at civilian objects in Donetsk and Kherson Oblasts,” the Air Force reported.

According to the report, Russians launched six S-300 surface-to-air ballistic missiles in their secondary ground-attack role, and 17 Shaheds, 10 of which were later destroyed.

Ukraine’s South Defense Forces (USDF) said four Shaheds were downed in southern regions:

“During a nighttime drone attack in the area of responsibility of the Southern Ukrainian Defense Forces, air defense units destroyed 4 Shahed-131/136 UAVs, two in Mykolaiv region, one in Kherson and Vinnytsia Oblasts,” USDF wrote, adding that the drones did not hit any targets in the area.

A Ukrainian Telegram channel linked to the USDF concluded “based on the open sources” that eight of the 17 Shaheds were present in the southern airspace, while other nine were launched from Kursk to Kharkiv Oblast, of those eight:

“Two were downed in Mykolayiv Oblast, one in Kherson Oblast, one in Vinnitsa Oblast, one in Khmelnytskyi Oblast,” he wrote, adding that other three made it into Lviv Oblast and hit their targets.

Lviv Oblast Military Administration Head Maksym Kozytskyi said three drones had struck an infrastructure object, causing a fire, which the facility employees promptly extinguished:

“During the air raid, at about 4 a.m., the enemy attacked an infrastructure facility in Lviv Oblast with three drones. The strike caused a fire, which employees quickly extinguished. There was some minor damage. There were no casualties or injuries,” he reported on Telegram.

Khelnytskyi Oblast authorities reported the air defense activities during the attack:

“During the air raid, air defense forces were active in Khmelnytsky district. There were no reports of casualties or damage to infrastructure,” the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Administration wrote.

Other local administrations reported no damage explicitly linked to the Russian air attack.

The authorities of Kherson and Donetsk oblasts reported civilian casualties resulting from Russian attacks but they did not specify whether these casualties were a result of the drone and missile assault conducted by Russia.

Kerson Oblast Head Oleksandr Prokudin said one civilian was killed and five others injured during the 24 hours between 6 a.m. on 4 and 5 December, as Russia launched 89 attacks including “a missile one” on the region firing 490 munitions from mortars, artillery, Grad multiple rocket launchers, UAVs and aircraft.

“Russian troops hit residential areas of the region’s settlements; a cinema, a preschool, the territory of an enterprise, and an animal shelter in Kherson; and an enterprise in Beryslav district,” Prokudin wrote.

Ihor Moroz, acting Donetsk Oblast Head, says Russian attacks injured two region residents in besieged Avdiivka. 

“In the middle of the night, the Russians fired four missiles at Selydove, hitting four high-rise buildings and seven administrative buildings,” Moroz wrote, not reporting any casualties from the missile strike. 

Currently, Russia launches Shahed drone attacks on Ukraine almost every night.

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