Air Force: Ukraine downs 39 missiles, 20 drones overnight
Ukrainian forces downed 39 of 55 missiles and 20 of 21 drones launched by Russian troops overnight on May 8, Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said.
Russia carried out a large-scale attack against Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, and Vinnytsia oblasts, mainly targeting energy infrastructure. Three thermal power plants were damaged, according to Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK.
The recent strikes also injured an 8-year-old child in Kirovohrad Oblast, as well as a 62-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man in Kyiv Oblast.
Ukrainian anti-aircraft and electronic warfare units, mobile fire groups, and fighter jets were involved in the combat mission, according to the Air Force's report.
Ukraine intercepted 33 Kh-101/Kh-505 cruise missiles, four Kalibr cruise missiles, two Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles, and 20 Shahed-type drones.
Oleshchuk said that Russia also used a Kinzhal hypersonic missile, two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, and an Iskander-K cruise missile. Ukrainian forces did not down these missiles, as well as 12 Kh-101/Kh-505 cruise missiles and one Shahed-type drone.
Russian troops launched their attacks from occupied Crimea, Russian-held territories in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russia's Tambov, Saratov, and Kursk oblasts, and the Black and Caspian seas.
In recent months, Russian attacks on critical infrastructure have increasingly targeted Ukrainian energy facilities.
The May 8 attack is the fifth large-scale attack against Ukraine's energy infrastructure over the past month and a half, according to DTEK. Russia previously carried out widespread strikes on 22 and 29 March, as well as on 11 and 27 April.
Kateryna Hodunova
