Ukraine says 57 Russian missiles, drones destroyed in overnight attacks

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukraine early Sunday claimed that 57 Russian missiles and drones were shot down by the air defense systems during overnight attacks on the country’s territory.

“From the evening of August 5 to the morning of August 6, 2023, the Russian invaders launched a massive missile attack on the territory of Ukraine with air and sea-based missiles, as well as Iranian attack drones ‘Shahed-136/131’,” said a statement by the Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram.

The statement claimed that Russia used 14 Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles and three Dagger aeroballistic missiles in a first wave of attacks overnight, during which 12 of the 14 Kalibr missiles were destroyed.

“On the night of August 6, the enemy continued to attack with Shahed-136/131 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) from the southeast, Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea, and Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic aircraft from the Caspian region,” the statement further said.

It claimed that all 27 “Shahed” type drones, as well as five out of six Kalibr missiles and 13 cruise missiles were destroyed, adding that Russia used a total of 70 means of air attack in several waves.

In response to the airstrikes, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the global community to provide further military and political support for Kyiv.

“Russia unleashed another salvo of missiles on Ukraine this Saturday. Russia will not stop until it is stopped. The global community must focus on enforcing a just and lasting peace: arming Ukraine, including with F-16s to close the sky, and implementing Ukraine’s Peace Formula,” Kuleba said on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reported that a blood transfusion center in the country’s Kharkiv region was hit by a guided Russian air bomb, where at least two were killed and four injured, according to Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on the claims, and independent verification of Ukraine’s claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.