Authorities in Ukraine say the attack was Russia’s biggest drone barrage against Ukraine in seven months.
Ukrainian forces shot down all 89 Shahed drones launched by Russia in a nighttime attack on the country, Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday, in what was said to be one of the largest drone barrages this year.
No damage or injuries were immediately reported in the bombardment, which mostly targeted the region of Kyiv, the capital.
“Yesterday, the enemy used multiple rocket launchers and artillery to attack the towns of Beryslav, Zmiivka, Shliakhove, Novokaira, Tiahyntsi, and Odradokamianka. Residential buildings and outbuildings were damaged as a result of hostile attacks,” said Volodymyr Litvinov, head of the Beryslav District Military Administration.
Russia deployed the same number of Shahed drones in an attack on January 1, an air force statement read. Both Ukraine and Russia have heavily relied on explosive drones throughout the war and are racing to develop additional countermeasures.
The Russian drones are being shot down by Ukraine’s Soviet-era aircraft, according to Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, an aviation expert in Kyiv.
“The air force is using electronic jamming against the drones’ GPS, which forces the drones to fly at a higher altitude, which then makes it easier for Ukrainian aircraft to strike them down,” he said.
He added that tactic will likely also be used when US made F-16 fighter jets are received in the coming days by Kyiv’s European partners.
Ukraine has been pushing its Western allies for F-16s for Ukraine for months, saying they were critically needed to fight back against the onslaught of missiles Russia has fired against it.
The F-16 is specialised in suppressing enemy air defences. The West has hesitantly moved toward providing the jets after previous concerns that arming Ukraine with advanced weaponry would further escalate the war with Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces said they struck more military targets on Russian soil overnight.
They hit a warehouse for weapon storage and military equipment in the border region of Kursk, a statement from Ukraine’s General Staff said.
