Ukraine said on Thursday it downed 17 out of 22 Russian drones attacking its territory overnight in the country's south, center and north.

"On the night of September 14, 2023, from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine with several groups of Shahed-136/131 type (drones) from three directions," Ukraine's air force said in a post on Telegram.

Having initially sought to pummel Ukrainian targets with missiles, Russia has this year increasingly turned to the Shahed, a cheap Iranian kamikaze drone which is more expendable and can confuse air defenses with its smaller size and low speed.