As the New Year approached, Ukrainian forces successfully thwarted 21 out of 49 combat drones deployed by Russian forces across Ukrainian territories.

Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, revealed during a morning telethon, “On the night of December 31, 2023, Russian aggressors unleashed ‘Shahed’ UAVs from three directions: Cape Chauda (Crimea), the Primorsko-Akhtarsk district, and the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.”

A total of 49 Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, identified as “Shahed-136/131,” were recorded. The adversary also targeted Kharkiv with six guided missiles from the S-300 air defense system.

Most of the combat drones were directed towards the front lines of defense and civilian, military, and infrastructural targets in Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolayiv, and Zaporizhzhia.

Across various regions of Ukraine, mobile fire groups of Defense Forces, fighter aviation, and anti-aircraft missile units successfully neutralized 21 Russian “Shahed” drones.

“Out of approximately 3,800 drones launched by Russia since September 2022, around 3,000 have been eliminated by the Ukrainian Defense Forces during the full-scale war,” added Ihnat.

The Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine reported that the drone attack persisted for seven hours. One “Shahed” was neutralized in Mykolayiv Oblast, six in Odesa Oblast, with debris falling into coastal zones. In Kherson Oblast, private residences suffered damage due to drone impacts.

Ihnat also highlighted that Russia targeted Kharkiv with six S-300 missiles on Saturday evening, striking a hotel and other civilian structures. Additionally, he underscored the successful neutralization of X-59 missiles in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast the day before.