KYIV: Ukrainian intelligence said on Monday it had planned the large-scale drone operation on Russian regions in retaliation for the unprecedented Shahed drone attacks Russia launched on Kyiv the previous night.
The Russian Ministry of Defence reported on Sunday that Russian air defence assets intercepted 53 Ukrainian drones within 24 hours, as reported by state news agency TASS.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said, “Seventeen rocket projectiles of the HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system were intercepted over 24 hours. Furthermore, 53 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed.”
A Ukrainian newspaper cited sources revealing that the attack on Russia occurred between 03:30 and 09:20 on November 26. Approximately 35 drones were deployed against targets in Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Tula, and Smolensk.
The report emphasized that all targeted locations were associated with the Russian military or the military-industrial complex. The Ukrainian source clarified that the drone operation was a symmetric response, signalling to Russia the need to consider the consequences of its actions. The intent was for the conflict to remain within military realms and designated areas of hostilities, with a warning that attacks on civilians and beyond those zones would not go unanswered.
