MOSCOW, July 30 -- Russian air defense systems shot down 258 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones overnight across 14 regions and sea zones, including strikes over the Black and Azov Seas, Russia's Defense Ministry announced Wednesday in a claim that, if accurate, would represent one of the larger single-night drone intercept tallies since the Russian operation in Ukraine began.

The Defense Ministry said the drones were engaged over Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Volgograd, Penza, Rostov, and Tambov regions, along with Krasnodar Territory, the Adygea Republic, Crimea, and the waters of the Azov and Black Seas. No casualties or damage details were included in the statement carried by Russian state media. Ukraine did not immediately confirm the overn...