WATCH Russian forces shoot down Ukrainian drones
Russian air-defense systems have destroyed three Ukrainian reconnaissance drones in Donbass, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, which also released a frontline video, reportedly from the scene.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said the unmanned aircraft had been downed by Russian airborne troops near the city of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine) using a Verba man-portable air-defense system and a mobile air-defense complex called Strela. It also identified the drones as Polish-made Fly Eye and Ukrainian-made Furia and Leleka-100.
The ministry released a video showing two Russian servicemembers firing from MANPADS into the sky from a lightly wooded area covered by snow. However, the clip showed neither the moment of the impact nor the drones’ debris.
The second part of the video featured the Strela system, which was calibrating its launchers before firing a missile that rapidly zeroed in on a barely visible aircraft hovering in the sky, resulting in an explosion.
The ministry added that Russian airborne troops had destroyed hundreds of Ukrainian unmanned aircraft, noting that one air-defense battery had taken out around ten drones in the past week alone.
Intensive drone warfare has become one of the hallmarks of the Ukraine conflict. Moscow’s troops regularly report on the destruction of Kiev’s unmanned aircraft used both for reconnaissance, frontline bombardment, and raids deep into Russia, sometimes targeting civilian infrastructure.
On Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said Russian forces had repelled a Ukrainian drone raid on Crimea and targets in the Azov Sea, claiming to have shot down 22 aircraft and intercepted 13.
