Air defenses down 249 out of 268 drones launched by Russia in overnight attack on Ukraine

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Telegram.

Military said that from 19:00 on May 2, Russia launched an attack using an Iskander-M ballistic missile from Russia’s Kursk region and 268 strike UAVs of various types, including Shahed drones, Gerbera, Italmas, and others, from multiple directions: Kursk, Shatalovo, Oryol, Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russia), Hvardiiske and Chauda (temporarily occupied Crimea), and temporarily occupied Donetsk. More than 160 of the drones were Shahed-type UAVs.

The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare (EW) units, drone and mobile fire groups of Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

As of 08:00 on May 3, preliminary data show that 249 drones were shot down or suppressed across Ukraine.

Authorities recorded a hit by a ballistic missile and 19 strike drones across 15 locations, as well as debris from downed drones falling at one location.

The attack is ongoing, with several enemy UAVs still in Ukrainian airspace.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, in the evening of May 2, Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure in the Krolevets community of the Sumy region with a missile, injuring six people.