Ukrainian air defense units engaged in an intensive battle against a large-scale Russian aerial assault, downing the vast majority of nearly 300 drones launched from several sectors inside the Russian Federation and occupied Crimea. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces deployed 294 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) starting Friday evening. The strike package included jet-powered Shahed variants, “Gerbera” and “Italmas” platforms, and “Parodiya” decoy drones designed to oversaturate defense radars.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Mobile fire groups, electronic warfare (EW) units, and anti-aircraft missile teams successfully neutralized 269 targets across northern, southern, central, and eastern Ukraine. However, 20 drones recorded direct hits across 15 separate locations. Kharkiv hit by ‘Molniya’ drone In addition to a morning strike on Kharkiv’s central Shevchenkivskyi district that crippled the municipal subway and transit network, Russian forces targeted the city’s Kyivskyi district, aacording. A specialized, high-speed “Molniya“ drone directly struck a garage cooperative. Three men sustained injuries during the blast and are receiving urgent medical care. The attack tore through the roofing of the garage structure, expanding a morning of heavy damage that had already hit three subway exits, an educational facility, and an apartment building.