Moscow, March 15: Russian air defence systems shot down 170 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 27 headed toward Moscow, according to the Russian authorities on Sunday.
From Saturday night to Sunday morning, air defence systems intercepted and destroyed the drones over multiple Russian regions, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
Russian air defence systems shot down 27 drones headed toward Moscow, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his social media channel.
Temporary restrictions were imposed on arrivals and departures at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport and Kaluga Airport in the Kaluga region, according to Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority.
The restrictions were necessary to ensure flight safety, Rosaviatsia said.
Meanwhile, Russian forces raided energy and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian troops, sites involved in Ukraine’s training and launch of long-range drones, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries, Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Russia launched about 430 drones and several ballistic missiles towards Ukraine and underlined the importance of air defence system as a “daily necessity” for the country.
He urged for speeding up of agreements on missile supplies and called for the production of air defence missiles.
He made the remarks in a post on X and said, “Russians launched around 430 drones of various types and a significant number of missiles. There were 13 ballistic missiles alone, and the total number of missiles in this attack was 68. According to preliminary data, 58 of them were intercepted by our air defence system.”
The post further noted that such strikes are a reminder of the importance of air defence and said, “Every such night of Russian strikes is a reminder to all our partners that air defences and the missiles for them are effectively a daily necessity. Every agreement on missile supplies cannot wait — everything must be implemented as quickly as possible. Our agreements to increase the production of air defence missiles are a critical direction, and this direction requires one hundred per cent attention. Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine. This is why we must be fully aware of the real level of the threat and prepare accordingly, namely: in Europe, we need to develop the production of air defence missiles — especially those capable of countering ballistic threats — as well as all other systems necessary to truly protect lives, regardless of what may be happening in any other part of the world. Europe is able to ensure this level of reliable protection. Thank you to everyone who is helping!”
–IANS