On Monday, March 16, 2026, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that since 6:00 p.m. the previous day and into the morning hours today, Russia had carried out another aerial attack using 211 drones, most of which were shot down.
Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine (Chernihiv region branch)
Russia launched 211 unmanned aerial vehicles, including more than 100 of the Geran/Shahed and Italmas types, as well as decoy drones of various kinds (including Gerbera), from the directions of Oryol, Kursk, Bryansk, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, as well as Hvardiiske in Crimea.
A notable feature was an unusual morning attack by the enemy using various types of strike drones toward Kyiv region. The main directions of the overnight attack were Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv regions.
The attack was repelled by aviation, surface-to-air missile forces, electronic warfare (EW) units, unmanned systems units, and mobile air defense groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to preliminary data, as of 11:00 a.m. local time, air defense systems had shot down or suppressed 194 UAVs in the north, south, and east of the country.
Hits by 16 drones were recorded in 10 locations, and debris from downed UAVs was reported in 11 locations. At the time of publication, several drones were still present in the airspace.
У ніч на 16 березня (з 18:00 15 березня) та протягом сьогоднішнього ранку противник атакував 211 ударними БпЛА.
⚡️ ЗБИТО/ПОДАВЛЕНО 194 ВОРОЖІ БПЛА.
Атака триває, в повітряному просторі декілька ворожих БпЛА. Дотримуйтесь правил безпеки! pic.twitter.com/75bc70NxT0
— Генеральний штаб ЗСУ (@GeneralStaffUA) March 16, 2026
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported in the morning that Russian forces had been attacking Chernihiv region for the past 24 hours, with fires caused by hostile unmanned aerial vehicles recorded in the Chernihiv, Koriukivka, Novhorod-Siverskyi, and Pryluky districts.
росіяни протягом минулої доби атакували Чернігівщину!
Через ворожі БпЛА зафіксовані пожежі у Чернігівському, Корюківському, Новгород-Сіверському та Прилуцькому районах.
Детальніше: https://t.co/FVGA0bQbir pic.twitter.com/qPZGmXFDoC— DSNS.GOV.UA (@SESU_UA) March 16, 2026
Earlier, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, Russian forces launched 97 drones, 90 of which were shot down. The previous large-scale drone and missile attack had taken place on the night from Friday to Saturday – out of 498 aerial weapons, 460 were intercepted.