KYIV -- Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone strikes overnight, as Russian forces increased the intensity of attacks on the ground.
In a statement, the Ukrainian Air Force said that, on the night of March 28, Russia launched 163 drones of various types.
Of the 163 drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 89 of them. According to the air force, 51 failed to hit their targets, most likely as a result of electronic warfare countermeasures.
Over the past 24 hours, Russian troops have carried out massive shelling and air strikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and dozens of settlements in the region, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration, on March 28.
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Kherson has been a focal point of fighting near the front line, with residents living under constant threat from drone and artillery strikes.
Three people were reportedly killed and 12 others were injured in the latest shelling in Kherson.
Meanwhile, in Russia, the cities of Saratov and Engels were attacked overnight on March 28, with local residents reporting multiple explosions in the sky, according to Russian Telegram channels.
The Saratov region has repeatedly been a target for Ukrainian drone strikes, in particular because of the significant military airfield close to the city of Engels.
In total, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the interception of 78 Ukrainian drones in the early hours of March 28.
Increased Russian Attacks
As the United States engages in shuttle diplomacy to try to bring peace to Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on March 28 that Russian troops had increased their activity on the ground, reporting 209 clashes in the last 24 hours.
The largest number of Russian attacks were in the direction of the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, the General Staff said.
The Ukrainian General Staff also announced that, since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has lost 910,750 military personnel, including 1,860 in the last 24 hours.
On March 5, Britain's Defense Ministry said that, so far in 2025, Russia had likely sustained approximately 90,000 casualties, killed or wounded. The ministry added that, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia had likely sustained 875,000 casualties.