Russian air defense units have shot down 16 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the special military operation zone over the past 24 hours including the territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“Over the past 24 hours, air defense units intercepted five high mobility artillery rocket system missiles and destroyed 16 Ukrainian drones in the areas of Zaliman and Kremennaya in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Vladimirovka, Vasilevka and Pavlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Berestovoye and Lozovaya in the Kharkov region and Aleshki in the Kherson region,” the Ministry said.
The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014. The peace talks that began soon thereafter failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression on February 24, 2022. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance.
The Lugansk People’s Republic acceded to Russia on September 30, 2022 following the unification referendum. *i*ie
