Russian air defense forces allegedly intercepted and destroyed 99 Ukrainian drones in the early hours of Tuesday, May 27, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry.
More than half of the drones - 56 - were reportedly downed over Belgorod Oblast. Another 25 were destroyed over Voronezh Oblast, seven over Vladimir Oblast, five over Kaluga, four over Tula, and one each over the Rostov and Lipetsk regions, per the report.
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Vladimir Oblast Governor Alexander Avdeyev said that in the town of Murom, drone strikes damaged the windows and doors of three buildings in an industrial zone. No casualties were reported, but evacuations were carried out.
Murom’s residents reported hearing explosions at a local plant, and Russian Telegram channels claimed drones struck an instrument-making facility.
In Lipetsk, authorities introduced a “red” alert level. A forest fire was reported after debris from a downed UAV fell in the area.
Voronezh Oblast Governor Alexander Gusev claimed that more than 20 drones had been destroyed across four municipalities. He added that a forest fire ignited by drone debris in the eastern part of the region had been extinguished.
Airports in Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Tambov, and Kaluga were temporarily closed due to the threat of follow-up attacks. Air raid warning systems were active in several regions, and officials urged residents to remain in shelters.
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Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force said that Russian forces launched 60 Shahed-type drones into Ukraine from the evening of May 26 into the early hours of May 27. Ukrainian air defenses reportedly shot down or intercepted 43 of them, according to the report.
In Sumy, a city near the Russian border, a Russian drone strike hit an industrial facility, sparking a fire, according to acting Mayor Artem Kobzar. An additional airstrike damaged seven private homes, a two-story residential building, and several cars.
The Dnipropetrovsk region was also targeted. In the village of Znamenivka, a drone strike ignited a fire that injured one man, the State Emergency Service reported.
On Tuesday, Moscow accused Kyiv of ramping up drone attacks to sabotage peace efforts, and claimed its own large-scale strikes on Ukraine - which killed 13 people over the weekend - were carried out in retaliation.
“Kyiv, with the support of some European countries, has taken a series of provocative steps to thwart negotiations initiated by Russia,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
It added that the Russian military was launching strikes on Ukraine “in response to mass Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian regions.”
Explosions were reported overnight on May 26 in multiple regions of Russia, with strikes hitting a Shahed drone factory in Tatarstan and a chemical plant in Ivanovo, according to Russian media and Ukrainian officials.
The city of Yelabuga, Tatarstan - home to a production site for Iranian-designed drones - was reportedly targeted for the third time in two years.
Meanwhile, residents in Kineshma, Ivanovo region, heard several loud blasts. Pro-Kremlin sources claimed a chemical plant linked to missile production was struck, while local authorities confirmed damage to industrial infrastructure.
Airports in Nizhnekamsk, Kaluga, and Moscow (Domodedovo and Zhukovsky) were temporarily closed due to the threat of further drone attacks.
Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation said these facilities support Russia’s military effort and fall under Ukraine’s right to self-defense, as outlined in the UN Charter.
While Russia frequently targets Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure, Kyiv says its drone strikes focus solely on military-linked sites.
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Russia Hit by 660-Drone Overnight Barrage Targeting Moscow, Crimea and Key Military Sites
