Russia says it shot down 426 Ukrainian drones overnight

Russia's defense ministry said on Wednesday that its air defense systems intercepted 426 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions.

In a statement, the ministry said: "During the past night, from 8:00 p.m. Moscow time, on-duty air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 426 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones."

According to the ministry's statement, as reported by Russia's Sputnik news agency, the drones were neutralized over the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Oryol, Kaluga, Tula, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Tambov, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Rostov, the Moscow region, Krasnodar Territory, and the Republic of Crimea.

During the operation, Russian forces also destroyed a significant amount of Western-supplied equipment, including German-made Leopard 2 tanks, as well as numerous American and British armored vehicles, along with other tanks and vehicles provided by NATO countries, according to the statement.