Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone attacks on Saturday, January 11 morning as both countries attempt to make battlefield gains before the possible singing of a peace deal.
Russian Telegram channels reported massive drone attacks across several Russian regions on Saturday with explosions and air defence activity reported. Residents in Voronezh, Kursk, Saratov, and Lipetsk regions witnessed the drone attacks, while strong fire occurred in Novorossiysk. Air video posted on Telegram showed air defence operations following the fire.
According to Mash Telegram channel. Saratov airport was temporarily closed on Saturday morning. “Preliminarily, this is due to attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to attack the city. The siren is active,” the channel said.
Before this, temporary restrictions were imposed at the airports in Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, and Ulyanovsk, Rosaviatsia reported.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 74 Shaheed kamikaze drones and decoy drones of various types across Ukraine from four directions. “As of 09:00, the destruction of 47 Shaheed attack UAVs and other drones has been confirmed,” the Ukrainian Air Force stated in Telegram app. Air defence systems were activated in capitcal Kyiv, Kyiv region, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kirovohrad, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions. Seven Ukrainian regions were affected by falling debris from the downed Russian drones.
The Ukrainian Air Forces shared the video of the moment a Russian drone was shot in the east of the country on Saturday. “Remember, enemy UAVs hit by air defense do not dissolve in the air; they inevitably fall to the ground. There is a real threat to life,” read the video’s caption.
Security Service of Ukraine, SBU, also reported that it struck a Russian reconnaissance drone storage facility in Russia’s Rostov region on Friday, January 10.
