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Ukrainian servicemen with a military mobile air defense group shoot down Russian drones using anti-aircraft guns in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on April 16, 2024. (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)
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Ukraine only has 25% of the air defense capabilities it needs to adequately repel Russian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with AFP on May 17.

Kyiv has been urging its partners to send additional air defense systems as Russia intensifies its strikes against Ukrainian population centers and infrastructure.

Ukraine would need 25 Patriot systems or their equivalents to protect the country, Zelensky said earlier.

Ukraine also needs over 100 advanced aircraft, including F-16 fighter jets, to counter Russia's air power, the president told AFP.

"As for the aircraft, I say this openly, so that Russia does not have air superiority, our fleet should have 120 to 130 modern aircraft," Zelensky added.

Ukraine could prevent Russia from occupying the city of Kharkiv with two additional Patriot anti-air systems, according to Zelensky.

Russian forces launches new offensive operations in the north of Kharkiv Oblast on May 10, exposing Kharkiv and a number of border settlements in the region to heavy attacks.

Kyiv is believed to operate at least three Patriot systems and associated equipment provided by the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands. Berlin pledged in April to send one additional system.

Ukraine should receive another IRIS-T system from Germany in May.

European allies are also working on plans to send additional air defenses to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing unnamed sources.

Russian strikes overwhelm Ukraine’s overstretched air defense amid Western aid delays
Over March and April, Russian airpower launched a new wave of mass attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Energy generating facilities, in particular coal-fired and hydroelectric power plants, have come under the heaviest attacks. For the first time, Russia destroyed or damaged several of Ukr…

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11:14 PM

Romania denies downing Russian drones over Ukraine.

Videos on social media that purport to show Romanian air defense units shooting down Russian attack drones above Ukraine are spreading a false narrative, Romania's Defense Ministry said in a statement on July 26.
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3:38 PM

Russian ex-deputy defense minister arrested on corruption charges.

In his previous position, former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov was in charge of the military's logistics chains during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. His dismissal was widely seen as a response to the logistic failures that accompanied the early months of Russia's all-out war.
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Сeasefire would leave 25% of Ukraine under Russian control, ambassador says.

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