Russia claims it downed 16 missiles, 31 drones amid airstrike by Ukraine

ISTANBUL

Russia claimed on Monday that it downed 16 missiles and 31 drones amid an overnight airstrike launched by Ukraine.

A statement by the Russian Defense Ministry said the country’s air defenses downed a total of 12 missiles and 12 drones over the country’s border region of Belgorod, where a missile strike a day earlier killed 15 people and injured 27 others.

The statement further said eight drones were downed over the Kursk region, while four missiles and seven drones were destroyed over the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

Another four drones were intercepted over the Lipetsk region, the statement added.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the claims.