Russia attacks Ukraine with almost 140 drones: fallout in five oblasts – photos

From the evening of March 17 into the early hours of March 18, Russia deployed 137 strike drones and decoys against Ukraine, affecting five oblasts, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

The drones were launched from Shatalovo village and the Russian cities of Kursk, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.

By 9 a.m., air defenses had shot down 63 Shahed drones and other UAVs across Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Kherson oblasts. An additional 64 decoy drones were lost to radar with no ground impact.

The attack caused damage in Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipro, and Cherkasy oblasts.

In Pechenihy, Chuhuyiv district of Kharkiv Oblat, two Shahed drones struck a school, igniting a 62-square-meter fire on the roof and gym, said Oleg Synegubov, head of the regional military administration.

Another drone hit a civilian enterprise in Prykolotne, Kupyansk district, but caused no damage or casualties.

In Poltava’s Lubny district, debris damaged the roofs and windows of two private homes and one non-residential building, sparking a grass fire that was later extinguished, reported acting regional head Volodymyr Kohut.

In Dnipro’s Dniprovskyi district, fires broke out at two businesses but were put out with no casualties, per regional head Serhiy Lysak.

In Cherkasy, a food warehouse and an administrative building at another facility caught fire, though both blazes were contained without casualties, said regional head Ihor Taburets.

Overnight on March 13, Russia launched 27 drones, fewer than the 117 sent the previous day.

Between March 14 evening and early March 15, 178 drones and two Iskander missiles struck, with defenses downing 130 drones and neutralizing 38 decoys.

Overnight on March 16, 174 drones were deployed, with 90 shot down and 70 decoys lost.