Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, a Russian drone was shot down by Belarus, an ally of Moscow’s, after an incursion over the weekend, according to a Belarusian media outlet.
Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) also known as “kamikaze drones” to target Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure. Belarus, a former Soviet republic, has maintained strong relations with Russia throughout the war as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is Russian President Vladmir Putin’s closest ally. While Lukashenko’s troops haven’t directly joined the conflict, Russian troops have been allowed to conduct exercises on Belarusian territory since before the beginning of the war that began in February 2022.
In a post to Telegram, Nexta shared on Sunday that a Russian Shahed attack drone “flying towards Mozyr was shot down again” over the Yelsky district of the Gomel region neighboring Ukraine and Russia.
“Residents of nearby settlements heard the sound of an explosion,” the outlet wrote.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian and Belarusian defense ministries via email for comment.
The downed drone comes after at least 17 people were injured in Russian missile strikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian authorities said Sunday. Russia reportedly struck the city, which lies some 217 miles from Kyiv, with two ballistic missiles.
The head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, said more than 20 buildings were damaged, including a residential block.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 110 Ukrainian drones over its territory overnight. One of the drones was intercepted near Moscow, the ministry said. Many targeted Russia’s border region of Kursk where 43 drones were reportedly shot down.
Remains of Shahed-136 drone is seen at an exhibition on May 12, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, a Russian drone was shot down by Belarus, an ally of Moscow’s, after an incursion over the weekend, according to a Belarusian media outlet.
Oleksii Samsonov /Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images
According to the Associated Press, such large-scale aerial attacks are still considered rare over Russia.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Sunday that Russia had launched some 800 guided aerial bombs and more than 500 attack drones over Ukraine in the past week alone.
“Every day, Russia strikes our cities and communities. It is deliberate terror from the enemy against our people,” he said, renewing calls for continued air support from the country’s allies. “United in defense, the world can stand against this targeted terror.”
This is not the first time a Shahed attack drone was shot down by Belarus.
In August, Belarus scrambled fighter jets to down Russian Shahed drones over its territory.
Two Shahed attack drones entered Belarus’ southeastern Gomel district, according to the Belarusian Hajun Project, an independent military monitoring outlet.
Belarus deployed fighter jets from its Baranovichi air base shortly after to shoot down the drones, the outlet said on Telegram.
In addition, the Hajun Project said that “aviation was used for the first time in Belarus to shoot down a Shahed drone.”
Meanwhile, Poland, Ukraine’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, has also been forced to scramble its fighter jets to protect its airspace from Russian missiles. Moscow has said the incursions were accidental.
