Ukraine Says Its Air Force Destroyed 22 Russian Drones in Odesa Region – News18

Last Updated: September 03, 2023, 10:19 IST

A man watches as emergency service personnel work at the site of a destroyed building after a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on July 20, 2023. (AP File Photo)

Ukraine’s air force destroys 22 Russian drones in an overnight attack on Odesa. Learn about the latest developments in the conflict

Ukraine’s air force said early on Sunday it had destroyed 22 Russian drones in an overnight attack on the southern Odesa region.

Russia “launched several waves of attacks by ‘Shahed-136/131’ (unmanned aerial vehicles) from the south and southeast”, Ukraine’s Air Force wrote on Telegram.

A total of 25 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones had been launched and “22 of them were destroyed by… the Air Force in cooperation with the air defence of other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine”, it said.

Following the collapse in July of a United Nations-brokered deal allowing safe shipments from the Black Sea, Russia has ramped up attacks on Ukraine’s southern Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, home to ports and infrastructure that are vital for the shipment of grain.

Last month, the first civilian cargo ship sailing through the Black Sea from Ukraine arrived in Istanbul in defiance of the Russian blockade.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that two more vessels had passed through the country’s “temporary Black Sea grain corridor”.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)