Ukraine says downed 28 of 31 Russian drones

Ukraine said Monday it had shot down 28 Russian drones out of 31 launched from the annexed Crimea peninsula, as the country celebrates Christmas on December 25 for the first time in a snub to Moscow.

“On December 25, the enemy attacked with 31 attacking UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)… 28 Shahed-136/131 drones were shot down,” the air force said on social media.

The air force said it had also shot down two Russian missiles and two fighter jets — one over the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine and one over the Black Sea.

The defence forces in southern Ukraine said 17 of the downed drones were in the southern Odesa region and five more in other parts of the south.

In Odesa, the defence forces said port infrastructure was damaged but there were no casualties.