Record number of Russian attack drones entered Belarus overnight, monitoring group says

A record 38 Russian Shahed-type attack drones entered Belarusian territory overnight on Nov. 24-25, with at least one of the drones reportedly shot down by the Belarusian Air Force, the monitoring group Belarusian Hajun reported.

The airspace intrusions, which have increased in recent months, comes as Russia continues to intensify its drone attacks against Ukrainian cities. Russia launched a total of 145 drones at Ukrainian targets overnight, with Ukrainian air defenses downing 71 of the attack drones, Ukraine's Air Force said.

The incident, marking the largest Russian drone incursion into Belarusian airspace since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marks one of the rare occasions when a Belarusian aircraft has downed a drone entering its airspace. Belarus' military confirmed downing a Russian drone over its territory for the first time on Sept. 5.

According to Belarusian Hajun, the Belarusian Air Force scrambled fighter jets four times over the past 24 hours to counter the attack drones. The monitoring group reported that the majority of the attack drones passed along Belarus' southern border with Ukraine, particularly in Homel Oblast.

Minsk has never publicly raised objections to Moscow – its key ally – over the reported drone incidents.

Despite not being directly involved in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Belarus hosts Russian troops and missiles on its territory.

The attacks come as Russia continues to increase its attacks against civilian targets, amid an expected harsh winter plagued by energy shortages.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 2 that Russia launched over 2,000 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine in October, with the Air Force previously reporting that Russia launched at least 4,300 Shahed-type attack drones and similar UAVs imitating Shaheds against Ukraine between August and October 2024.

Later in the day on Nov. 25, a Russian drone attacked the village of Solonchaky in Mykolaiv Oblast while humanitarian aid was being distributed there, injuring five people with both aid workers and residents among the victims.

Drone coalition to gather $1.8 billion by end of 2024, defense minister says

An allied initiative, co-headed by the U.K. and Latvia, was launched in January to bolster Ukraine’s arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which became a crucial capability on the battlefield. Nearly 20 countries joined the coalition as of late November.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova

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