MOSCOW, April 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Russia said Friday it downed 53 Ukrainian drones, the majority of which targeted the southern Rostov region where Moscow's Ukraine campaign headquarters is located.

"During the night and on the morning of April 5, the Kyiv regime tried to commit several terrorist attacks with aerial drones which were foiled," the defence ministry said.

It said 44 of the drones were downed or intercepted in the southern Rostov region and the rest elsewhere.

The military headquarters of the Ukraine campaign, which was launched in February 2022, is located in Rostov-on-Don, the main city of the region.
The other areas targeted were Kursk, Belgorod and Krasnodar, the ministry said.

The Kremlin-backed Wagner mercenary group briefly seized the Ukraine campaign HQ in Rostov-on-Don in June last year before stopping its mutiny.