Large-scale Russian attack with various missiles and kamikaze drones: air defence downs 37 targets on 19 July

Russia fired 30 cruise missiles, 1 aerial missile and 32 Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones on Ukraine on the night of 18-19 July, while Ukrainian air defence forces destroyed 37 Russian air targets.

Source: press service for Ukraine’s Air Force Command

Details: The Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine from the south, using air-, land- and sea-launched cruise missiles, as well as Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs.

The Russians attacked critical infrastructure and military facilities, with the main focus of the attacks in Odesa Oblast.

During several waves of attacks, the Russians used:

• 16 Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles, supposedly from the Ingushetia small missile ship and the Admiral Essen frigate from the Black Sea;
• 8 Kh-22 cruise missiles from Tu-22M3 long-range aircraft from the Black Sea;
• 6 Oniks cruise missiles from the Bastion coastal missile system (Crimea);
• 1 Kh-59 aerial guided missile from a Su-35 fighter jet from the Black Sea;
• 32 Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs from the Chauda training ground (Crimea) and Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Rostov Oblast, Russia).

As a result of combat operations, the air defence of the Air Force and other units of the Ukrainian Defence Forces destroyed 37 air targets:

• 13 Kalibr cruise missiles;
• 1 Kh-59 guided missile;
• 23 Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs.

Quote: "The Kh-22 and Oniks missiles struck infrastructure facilities in Odesa Oblast. The local military administrations will report on the consequences of these strikes and the casualties. 

Over the current and previous days, the Air Force has carried out more than 20 air strikes on the Russian occupiers’ facilities, clusters of equipment and personnel."

Background: On the night of 18-19 July, Russian troops hit the port area and warehouses containing  tobacco and fireworks in Odesa, tourist facilities and hotels were damaged in Odesa Oblast, an infrastructure facility was damaged in the Zhytomyr Oblast, all drones were shot down in Kyiv and the oblast, and three missiles hit an open area on the outskirts of the city of Zaporizhzhia.

For reference: Ukrainian air defence does not have the capability to shoot down Kh-22 and Onyx missiles. Modern systems supplied by international partners are not enough to close the sky over Ukraine.

The Air Force stressed that Ukraine cannot deploy air defence along the entire border, so it needs modern F-16 multirole fighter jets.

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