Moscow, August 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 250 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over a 12-hour period, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday, as both sides reported intensified aerial attacks and preparations to protect critical infrastructure ahead of winter.
According to the Russian ministry, the drones were downed between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Moscow time across 19 regions, including the Moscow region.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin separately said more than 2,600 drones had been detected flying towards the capital over the past week. He said most were intercepted by air defence systems on the city’s distant outskirts, with 493 drones destroyed while approaching Moscow, Xinhua news agency reported.
The claims could not be independently verified.
The Russian Defence Ministry had earlier said that Russian forces captured 11 settlements and carried out one large-scale and nine group strikes against Ukrainian military targets over the previous week.
The ministry said the settlements were located across the Kharkiv, Donbas and Zaporizhzhia regions.
According to the Russian military, the strikes targeted Ukrainian defence enterprises, logistics hubs, energy and transport infrastructure, as well as facilities involved in manufacturing ground robotic systems, drones and related components.
It also claimed that missile launch sites, ammunition and fuel depots, supply facilities and temporary deployment locations of Ukrainian military formations and foreign mercenaries were hit.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has been stepping up measures to protect its energy infrastructure ahead of the winter season.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday that the government had allocated 35 billion hryvnyas, or about $785 million, for the protection of energy facilities and strengthening regional resilience, according to public broadcaster Suspilne.
Shmyhal told Parliament that construction of around 200 second-level protective monolithic structures had already been completed.
Acknowledging that no defence system could provide complete protection, he said damage to protected facilities could be repaired within weeks.
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