Published: August 4, 2025 6:19 pm
Author: RT
The soldiers destroyed a total of six unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) targeting a freight train, an RT journalist has learned
A video showing Russian air defense troops using assault rifles against Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been obtained by RT. The footage was recorded during an attack on a freight train in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region.
Russian drone operators intercepted a signal from the Ukrainian drone and reported its location and designated targets to an air defense unit, one of the soldiers who took part in the defensive operation told RT’s Vlad Andrysta.
The air defense troops then took up defensive positions and met the incoming UAVs with gunfire. The video provided by the military shows a large black craft flying at low altitude exploding mid-air after being hit by bullets. The second, similar drone can then be seen sharing the same fate.
Russian troops shot down a total of six drones in the engagement, including four large ones, according to a soldier with the nickname ‘Dushman’. None of the Ukrainian UAVs reached its target and the freight train left the area safely, according to the military.
The incident took place near the city of Tokmak in the Zaporozhye Region. According to ‘Dushman’, who serves with a Russian anti-aircraft missile battalion, Ukrainian drones increasingly target trains and gas stations in the area, endangering the civilian population.
Earlier on Monday, regional officials in Volgograd Region, southern Russia, reported that Ukrainian drone attacks had disrupted passenger rail traffic and caused a power outage in the area overnight. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said 61 fixed-wing drones had been downed during the raid, with about half intercepted over the Black Sea and Voronezh Region.
READ MORE: Ukrainian drones disrupt civilian rail traffic in Russia – governor
Officials in Kiev have described Ukrainian drone operations as an attempt to increase pressure on Moscow and force an unconditional ceasefire. The Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, insisting their own strikes are aimed strictly at military-related targets.
