Ukraine war latest: Ukraine shoots down nearly 500 drones, missiles in Russian record strike, Air Force says
Key developments on June 9:
- Ukraine shoots down nearly 500 drones, missiles in Russian record strike, Air Force says
- Ukraine begins new major prisoner exchange with Russia
- Russia claims offensive in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast aimed at creating 'buffer zone,' Ukraine denies reports of incursion
- Putin approves new naval strategy as Russia seeks to restore maritime power
- Ukraine says it hit military aircraft, electronic warfare facility in Russia
Ukraine's Air Force said on June 9 that it intercepted a total of 479 Russian drones and missiles during a record-high wave of strikes overnight.
According to the official statement, Russia launched 499 weapons, including 479 Shahed‑type attack drones and various decoy drones, four Kh‑47M2 "Kinzhal" air-launched ballistic missiles, 10 Kh‑101 cruise missiles, three Kh‑22 cruise missiles over the Black Sea, two Kh‑31P anti‑radar missiles, and one Kh‑35 cruise missile from occupied Crimea.
Ukraine had reportedly neutralized 479 of the incoming targets, with 292 shot down and 187 jammed or lost via electronic warfare.
The main target of the Russian attack was one of Ukraine's airfields, Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on national television, without specifying the location or the strike's impact on the facility.
The spokesperson called the June 9 attack "one of the largest that Russia has launched against Ukraine in recent times" and praised the Ukrainian air defense.
"Of course, there are also hits. We won't specify in which locations, but with the number of missiles and drones that Russia is launching, it is impossible to shoot down everything," Ihnat added.
Ukraine begins new major prisoner exchange with Russia
Ukraine has begun a large prisoner exchange with Russia as part of a deal reached during recent peace talks in Istanbul, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on June 9.
"Ukrainians are coming home from Russian captivity," Zelensky said in a statement. "Today, the exchange began and will continue in several stages over the coming days. Among those being returned now are wounded and severely wounded prisoners, as well as those under 25."
The swap marks the first stage of the agreement negotiated at the second round of direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul on June 2.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said the first group of released prisoners includes personnel from Ukraine's Navy, Ground Forces, Air Force, National Guard, Border Guard Service, Territorial Defense, and State Special Transport Service.
Among those freed are defenders of Mariupol who had spent more than three years in captivity. All those returned in this stage are enlisted and noncommissioned soldiers, officials said.
"Most of those returned were captured in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022," Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
Lubinets said his office monitored the exchange on the ground to ensure respect for human rights under the Geneva Convention and helped freed Ukrainians contact their families.
"We warmly welcome all who can now breathe the air of their homeland after years of captivity," Lubinets said. "Our team shares in the joy of the families who received that precious and long-awaited call."
The ongoing exchange covers specific categories — soldiers under 25, the severely wounded, and seriously ill prisoners — and Ukraine continues to work to repatriate the bodies of fallen servicemembers, according to the General Staff.
Ukrainian officials did not disclose the total number of POWs freed on June 9, citing security reasons. Ahead of the exchange, Zelensky had said Ukraine aimed to bring home 500 prisoners in the June 7-8 swap, which ultimately did not take place as scheduled.
June 9 swap comes after Kyiv denied Russian claims that it had delayed the planned June 7-8 exchange. Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky had accused Ukraine of postponing the swap indefinitely. Ukrainian officials dismissed this as disinformation.
Russia claims offensive in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast aimed at creating 'buffer zone,' Ukraine denies reports of incursion
Russian forces are conducting their offensive in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as part of efforts to create a "buffer zone" on Ukrainian territory, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on June 9, according to Russian state-controlled media.
Peskov's comments allude to Russia's claims that the neighboring Ukrainian Donetsk Oblast belongs to Moscow. The claim is based on Russia's proclaimed annexation of the region in September 2022.
Kremlin spokesperson comments follow weeks of renewed Russian advances in Donetsk Oblast and President Vladimir Putin's May 22 statement that Moscow is working to establish a "security buffer zone" along Ukraine's borders with Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod oblasts.
Ukrainian officials denied Russia's latest claims of progress in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
"As of the morning of June 9, all Russian information, including Peskov's statements, about an offensive in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast does not correspond to reality," said Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation.
Operational Command South reported on June 8 that Russian troops are continuing attempts to break into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast but described the situation as "tense" rather than indicating any successful advance.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on June 8 that its forces had entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Ukrainian officials immediately rejected the assertion.
Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, also called the reports false, telling CNN that Russian forces had not advanced from the Pokrovsk or Novopavlivka directions, where the three oblasts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk converge.
Since 2014, Russian aggression has heavily impacted Donetsk Oblast, while Dnipropetrovsk Oblast has remained free from confirmed ground incursions. Ukraine rejected similar Russian claims in May, when officials debunked allegedly fabricated photos purportedly showing Russian troops in the region.
Despite this, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast has faced frequent Russian missile and drone attacks throughout the full-scale war. The region began mandatory evacuations from four front-line villages in April as a precaution.
Putin approves new naval strategy as Russia seeks to restore maritime power
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy aimed at fully restoring Russia's position as a leading global maritime power, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with the Russian state-controlled Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, published on June 9.
Patrushev, a former KGB officer, told the Russian newspaper that the new document, titled The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050, was approved in late May.
"Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev said. He added that such work requires a long-term vision of future maritime challenges and threats.
Patrushev provided no further details on the new naval strategy.
Russia currently operates the world's third most powerful navy, according to most public rankings, behind China and the United States. However, the fleet has suffered a string of losses during the war against Ukraine, particularly in the Black Sea.
Ukraine says it hit military aircraft, electronic warfare facility in Russia
Ukraine damaged two Russian military aircraft — a MiG-31 and either a Su-30 or Su-34 fighter jet, as well as struck the JSC VNIIR-Progress facility in the Russian city of Cheboksary in the Chuvashia Republic, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on June 9.
Ukrainian drone units, in coordination with other units, targeted VNIIR-Progress and ABS Electro in Cheboksary overnight as part of efforts to degrade Russia's capacity to produce air attack systems.
The targeted facilities are part of Russia's military-industrial complex and produce adaptive Kometa antennas, used in Shahed-type attack drones, planning and correction modules for guided aerial bombs (KAB), and other precision-guided weapons, the General Staff said.
The Ukrainian military confirmed that at least two drones struck the site, causing a large fire. The results of the strike are still being assessed.
Ukraine's overnight strike also targeted the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, which the Kremlin uses to launch MiG-31K jets armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, according to the General Staff.
The operation was conducted by Ukrainian Special Operations Forces in coordination with other units.
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