Ukraine’s forces down 48 Russian missiles, 64 drones overnight

That is according to the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

Starting at 19:30 on April 23, the Russian invaders launched a combined strike against Ukraine, using missiles of various types — air-, land-, and sea-launched — along with Shahed-type attack UAVs and other types of decoy drones.

The primary target of the attack was Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Air Force detected and tracked a total of 215 enemy aerial targets, including:

• 11 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles (launched from Russia’s Bryansk, Voronezh, and Kursk regions);
• 37 Kh-101 cruise missiles (launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers in Saratov region);
• six Iskander-K cruise missiles (launched from Donetsk region);
• 12 Kalibr cruise missiles (launched from the Black Sea);
• four Kh-59/Kh-69 guided aerial missiles (launched from Belgorod region);
• 145 Shahed attack drones and other decoy UAVs (launched from Bryansk, Millerovo, Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, and Chauda in Crimea).

The Air Force, air defense missile units, electronic warfare systems, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces were engaged in repelling the attack.

As of 10:00, the following 112 aerial targets were confirmed shot down:

• seven Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles;
• 31 Kh-101 cruise missiles;
• six Kalibr cruise missiles;
• four Kh-59/Kh-69 guided aerial missiles;
• 64 Shahed attack drones.

Also, 68 decoy drones were lost from tracking but caused no damage.

Ukrainian fighter jets, including pilots of F-16 and Mirage aircraft, played a significant role in the defense, reportedly shooting down dozens of enemy targets.

Regions affected by the Russian attack are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, and Khmelnytskyi.

As previously reported, the massive attack on Kyiv resulted in nine deaths, 31 people remain hospitalized, including five children.

Photo: Ukrainian Air Force