Russia says downed 419 Ukrainian drones

MOSCOW: Russia shot down 419 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Kyiv has stepped up its long-range drone strike campaign against Russia in recent months, particularly against energy infrastructure to target a vital source of the Kremlin’s revenue to fund its war effort, now in its fifth year. Air defense systems “intercepted and destroyed 419 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles” around the country, the defense ministry posted on the state-run Max platform. It did not say if there were any deaths or injuries.