New steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense within the coming weeks announced yesterday, Saturday, evening in his daily video address the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Anti-aircraft systems will become more important in Kiev’s defense plans as winter approaches. Ukrainian authorities expect Moscow to launch more attacks on Ukrainian electricity, heating and water facilities this winter.

“The closer we get to winter, the greater Russia’s efforts to intensify its attacks will become”Zelensky noted.

Energy infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Odesa were heavily attacked by Russian drones in the early hours of Saturday, according to a statement from the Ukrainian armed forces.

The Air Force of Ukraine said in a post on the Telegram app that of the 38 drones launched, 29 were intercepted.

The attacks caused a fire in an administrative building at an energy complex in Odessa and injured one person, the southern command of the Ukrainian military said. The fire was extinguished, he added.

In Zaporizhia, 4 out of 8 drones were intercepted, army commander Yuriy Malasko said at the same time on Telegram. Some parts of the infrastructure were damaged and a fire broke out, he added. No injuries were caused.

Attacks were also reported in neighboring Mykolayiv and Kherson regions, as well as in western Ukraine, Kiev and Khmelnytskyi.

In the meantime, the mayor of Moscow said that the Russian anti-aircraft defense prevented a drone attack on the Russian capital yesterday, Saturday night.

The attack in Bogorodskoye, in the eastern administrative region of Moscow, which occurred overnight on Saturday, was foiled, the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, said in a Telegram post early this morning.

“An attempted drone attack on Moscow was thwarted by air defense (…) tonight. No damage or casualties were reported from the debris that fell (on the ground). Emergency services are in the area,” Sobyanin clarified in his post. .

The Russian Defense Ministry also announced in a Telegram post that air defense destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the Bogorodskoye region around 01:00 Moscow time (24:00 Greek time). This information could not be independently verified.