Air defense intercepts 35 of 39 Russian drones in attack on Ukraine overnight

According to reports from the Ukrainian Air Force, Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept 35 of 39 Russian Shahed drones in a night raid on July 21. Ballistic missiles and cruise missiles were also fired from several directions during the raid.

The Russian Armed Forces launched three Iskander-M ballistic missiles from Kursk Oblast and Crimea, two Kh-59/69 guided air-to-ground missiles from the airspace of Kursk Oblast and 39 Shahed unmanned combat aircraft from three directions: Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Crimea, the Air Force statement detailed.

Kiev was attacked on the night of July 21 at around 3 a.m.

Ukraine’s air defense systems were active in over ten Ukrainian oblasts, including Sumy, Poltava, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Odessa and Cherkasy.

The Air Force also reported that “Due to active countermeasures, the Russian Kh-59/69 guided air-to-surface missiles failed to reach their targets.”

In Sumy Oblast, a Russian attack targeted critical infrastructure facilities in Shostka District, the Sumy Regional Military Administration reported.

The July 20 airstrike involved Shahed-136 kamikaze drones and a new, unidentified drone type. The Air Force Command initially reported the destruction of 13 of 16 Shahed drones and one unidentified drone.

“These systematic drone attacks by Russian forces prove once again that the occupier is actively looking for an opportunity to attack Kyiv,” Popko said this was at least the fifth consecutive attempt to attack the capital with drones in the past two weeks.

Defense Express reported after the attack that images of the downed, unidentified drone had emerged that showed clear differences from the Shahed-136. The new drone was reportedly flying at an extremely low altitude of 20 to 30 meters, suggesting that it could be a kamikaze drone.

According to Defense Express sources, the mysterious drone has a wingspan of over 4 meters, tail booms with stabilizers, a pusher propeller and a square-profile fuselage. Although it bears some resemblance to the Russian ZALA 421-20 reconnaissance drone, experts doubt this identification due to the low-altitude flight path, the limited production of the ZALA and its obsolete status.

Ukrainian authorities are examining the remains of the drone to determine its capabilities, origin and components.

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