MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. Air defense forces shot down 52 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the airspace over various Russian regions within a six-hour period on Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported.

"From 8:00 a.m. and until 2:00 p.m. Moscow time [from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. GMT] on February 18, alert air defense forces destroyed 52 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles: 32 UAVs over the Bryansk Region, seven UAVs over the Kaluga Region, six UAVs over the Smolensk Region, six UAVs over the Kursk Region and one UAV over the Volgograd Region," the ministry said in a statement.