Ukrainian forces shot down 39 of 55 missiles and 20 of 21 drones fired by Russian troops overnight on May 8, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk said.
Ukrainian forces shot down 39 of 55 missiles and 20 of 21 drones fired by Russian troops on the night of May 8, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said, quoted by the Kyiv Independent.
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv and Vinnytsia regions, mainly targeting energy infrastructure.
According to data from the largest private energy company in Ukraine, DTEK, three thermal power plants were damaged.
In the recent strikes, an 8-year-old child was injured in the Kirovohrad region, as well as a 62-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man in the Kyiv region.
Ukrainian air and electronic warfare units, mobile fire groups and fighter jets participated in the combat mission, the Air Force report said.
Ukraine intercepted 33 Kh-101/Kh-505 cruise missiles, four Kalibr cruise missiles, two Kh-59/Kh-69 cruise missiles and 20 Shahed drones.
Russia has also used a Kinzhal hypersonic missile, two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and an Iskander-K cruise missile. Ukrainian forces have not shot down these missiles, as well as 12 Kh-101/Kh-505 cruise missiles and one Shahed drone.
Russian troops launched their attacks from occupied Crimea, Russian-controlled territories in the Zaporozhye region, the Russian regions of Tambov, Saratov and Kursk, as well as from the Black and Caspian seas.
In recent months, Russian attacks on critical infrastructure have increasingly targeted Ukrainian energy facilities.
The May 8 attack was the fifth large-scale attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the past month and a half, according to DTEK. Russia previously carried out large-scale strikes on March 22 and 29, as well as on April 11 and 27. /BGNES
