Ukraine suffered a large Russian missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, while its air defences were able to down a far lower proportion of them than usual.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 37 missiles and three drones. Eight missiles were downed, it said in a statement on social media.
The air force’s spokesperson said earlier this week that Ukraine was now suffering from a deficit of air defence missiles. It was not immediately clear whether this or any other factor was the reason for the low hit rate.
Most of the types of missiles used overnight were extremely fast-moving ballistic types, the Air Force said. These are far harder to shoot down.
“It should be noted that more than 20 of all the listed (weapons) which were not included in the number of the downed, did not reach their targets as a result of active countermeasures by electronic warfare,” the statement said.
Air defences shot down Russian missiles in at least five regions across Ukraine, according to local officials from those provinces.—Reuters
