Air Force: Ukraine downs 24 drones launched by Russia overnight
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 24 of the 25 attack drones launched by Russia overnight on June 2, the Air Force said in its morning update.
The drones were reportedly launched from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea, as well as Yeysk in Krasnodar Krai, and Russian port town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, located on the coast of the Azov Sea. The town lies approximately 153 kilometers (95 miles) from Kerch, which is located on the Crimean Peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Aircraft, missile and electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force intercepted the drones over Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Odesa, Khreson, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, and Vinnytsia oblasts, according to to Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
No casualties were reported at the time of the publication.
Russia also targeted Kharkiv Oblast with an Iskander-K missile launched from Crimea and fired an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile from the occupied Donetsk Oblast. It is unclear whether those aerial targets were shot down.
Drone attacks are a daily occurrence in Ukraine, affecting various regions across the country. In recent months, Russia has intensified attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, launching massive drone and missile strikes targeting critical facilities.
Overnight on June 1, Moscow's troops reportedly attacked Ukraine with 35 Kh-101/555 cruise missiles launched from Tu-95 bomber planes over the Caspian Sea, as well as four Iskander-M ballistic missiles and one Iskander-K cruise missile from occupied Crimea.
Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko confirmed that energy infrastructure in several regions, including Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts came under fire by Russian forces.
Francis Farrell
