Russia launch 55 missiles and 21 Shahed drones: Ukraine's air defence downs 59 targets

Iryna Balachuk — Wednesday, 8 May 2024, 08:42

Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 55 missiles of various types and 21 attack drones on the night of 7-8 May. Ukraine’s air defence has successfully destroyed 59 Russian aerial targets.

Source: Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of Ukraine's Air Force, 

Quote: "Russian occupiers launched a combined strike using missiles of various types and attack drones on the night of 7-8 May 2024. In total, the enemy deployed 76 means of air attack, including 55 missiles and 21 drones."

Details: The Russians launched the following targets:

  • 1 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missile (launched from Russia’s Tambov Oblast);
  • 2 Iskander-M ballistic missiles (from occupied Crimea);
  • 4 Kalibr cruise missiles (from the Black Sea);
  • 45 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers (from Russia’s Saratov Oblast and Caspian Sea);
  • 1 Iskander-K cruise missile (from Crimea);
  • 2 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles (from occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast);
  • 21 Shahed-131/136 attack UAVs (from Russia’s Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk Oblast).

Oleshchuk noted that the air defence forces managed to destroy 33 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles, 4 Kalibr cruise missiles, 2 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles and 20 Shahed drones.

"Air Force fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft missile forces as well as mobile fire groups and electronic warfare units from Ukraine’s Defence Forces were engaged in repelling the air attack," Oleshchuk summarised.

Background:

  • Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine on the night of 7-8 May. An air-raid warning was issued in all Ukrainian oblasts.
  • No hits or casualties were recorded in the city of Kyiv. Air defence systems destroyed all aerial targets in the vicinity of the capital.
  • The Russians attacked power generation and transmission facilities in six Ukrainian oblasts. The oblasts of Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia came under Russian fire. The Russians hit three thermal power plants owned by DTEK, causing serious damage to their equipment.
  • A fire broke out at a civilian infrastructure facility in the city of Brovary in Kyiv Oblast, while hits were recorded in Vinnytsia Oblast due to the Russian missile attack.
  • Russian forces damaged a critical infrastructure facility, 13 residential buildings and dozens of garages in Kirovohrad Oblast during a nighttime missile attack, injuring a child. Strikes were also recorded in Poltava Oblast.

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