KYIV — At least 16 people were killed and more than 100 injured as Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with nearly 700 drones and 44 missiles.
Ukrainian air defense forces shot down most of the drones, but intercepted only eight of the 19 ballistic missiles that entered the country’s airspace. Kyiv, Dnipro, and Odesa were the main targets of the Russian strikes.
“We managed to shoot down 636 drones and part of the missiles. Unfortunately, not all. There are hits and damage to ordinary houses,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X on Thursday.
Ukraine has shot down 90 percent of the killer drones and almost 80 percent of the cruise missiles that Russia has launched against the country in the past six months, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Berlin on Wednesday. He added that between last November and March of this year, the Kremlin launched 462 ballistic missiles, nearly 600 cruise missiles and 27,000 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine.
But Kyiv still has a shortage of anti-ballistic capabilities, relying on Western supplies. There is an extreme shortage of PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles, a scarcity that has become all the more acute since the U.S.and Israel launched its war on Iran in late February.
Kyiv has started searching for alternatives to the PAC missiles, and continues to push partners to stick to their commitments to Ukraine.
“There are many political commitments from partners that have already been voiced but not yet implemented, including in the ‘Ramstein’ format and on a bilateral basis.” Zelenskyy said on Thursday. “I have instructed the commander of the air force to contact those partners who previously gave promises regarding missiles for ‘Patriots’ and other systems.”
