KYIV: The Ukrainian Air Force said Wednesday it had intercepted thirty-six Russian cruise missiles during a new wave of strikes.
Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk said on the air force’s official Telegram channel that the Ukrainian destroyed 36 cruise missile of the enemy on 26 July.
He did not specify whether the missiles had reached their target during the strike.
The air force said that the Ukrainian troops intercepted 3 Kalibr missiles during a first series of attacks in the afternoon, and thirty-three X-101 and X-555 missiles in the early evening, AFP reported on Thursday.
It said that the missiles were fired by 8 Tu-95 bombers from the southeast heading towards western Ukraine.
The air force also mentioned another Russian attack on Wednesday evening hitting the Khmelnytsky region in western Ukraine, which has already been pounded several times by Moscow.
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It said information about that attack by MiG-31s, which fired 4 hypersonic Kinjal missiles, was being “clarified”, but that they were very difficult to intercept.
Governor of the Dnipro central region said that the debris of a downed Russian rocket caused a fire which was extinguished without causing any casualties.
Ukrainian president thanks air force
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his evening address, expressed his gratitude for the air force for having shot down many missiles.
Zelensky said that he was thankful to each and every one of them who protects the Ukrainian sky.
Russia has geared up the bombing of Ukrainian cities over the last two weeks, especially targeting the important port of Odesa on the Black Sea.
