Russia says shot down 14 drones over Ukraine border regions

Russia’s defence ministry on Thursday said that 14 Ukrainian drones were destroyed overnight over the regions of Belgorod and Kursk on the border with Ukraine.

It marked the latest wave of drone attacks on Russian territory this week, ahead of presidential elections on March 15-17 that are all but guaranteed to hand President Vladimir Putin another six years in power.

Eleven drones were shot down over the region of Belgorod and three over the region of Kursk, the defence ministry said in a statement.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, dozens of Ukrainian drones targeted several Russian regions, including oil refineries hundreds of kilometres from the frontline, in the regions of Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Leningrad. (BSS/AFP)