(Dan Tri) – Russia announced the destruction of 33 Ukrainian drones in a raid on December 17.

Ukrainian soldiers operate drones (Photo: Reuters).

The Russian Ministry of Defense said on December 17 that Russian air defense systems destroyed 33 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched by Ukraine over several Russian areas.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the drones were intercepted or shot down before they reached their targets over the Lipetsk, Rostov and Volgograd regions.

Russian media reported that drones attacked a military airport in Morozovsk, where Russian military aircraft are stationed.

Ukrainska Pravda news website quoted an anonymous source in the Ukrainian security forces as saying that the Ukrainian armed forces and security agencies carried out a special operation on the night of December 16 and early morning of December 17, attacking

`Drones were deployed to attack the airport. Although Russia claimed all drones were shot down, in reality, Ukrainian security services and the Ukrainian armed forces caused

The source emphasized that this airport is an important target because the 559th bomber regiment of the Russian Air Force is based here.

According to sources, 20 Su-34 aircraft, 3 radars and other military equipment were stationed at the airport at the time of the attack.

A source also revealed to Ukrainska Pravda that Ukrainian defense intelligence participated in drone attacks against Russia’s Lipetsk and Volgograd regions yesterday.

Russian border regions such as Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod, as well as the capital Moscow, have been regularly targeted by drones and missiles since Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine last February.

In May, an armed group supporting Ukraine even crossed the border and raided the Belgorod region before being pushed back by Russia.

Moscow believes that Ukraine’s attacks on Russian territory would not be possible without the support of the US and NATO.

However, Washington has repeatedly affirmed that it neither encourages nor supports Ukraine’s attack on Russian territory.

The United States and its allies such as Germany clearly do not approve of weapons provided by these countries being used for military operations outside Ukraine’s borders.

So far, attacks on Russian territory have caused only minor damage, but the Kremlin describes the attacks as `desperate actions` aimed at covering up Kiev’s failures on the battlefield.

According to observers, the attacks show certain vulnerabilities in the Russian air defense system deployed at facilities that are important in terms of security against Ukrainian drones.