Ukraine’s air force said earlier today that it shot down two out of the four missiles and all the four drones launched by Russia during an overnight attack. Russia launched Kh-59 missiles were successfully downed by Ukrainian air defence forces as well as two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, according to the report. The Iskander missiles targeted the northeastern Kharkiv region, the military said. Governor Oleh Syniehubov’s office had not provided a report on the aftermath of the attack.
Dnipropetrovsk’s Governor Serhiy Lysak said air defences had destroyed a missile over his region in central Ukraine. After various overnight Russian attacks there, the governor said that a 12-year-old boy was injured and two homes were damaged. Kirovohrad’s Governor Andriy Raykovych said no damage had been reported after air defences worked in the central region.
In another incident at least two people were killed on Thursday when Russian troops shelled the town of Kostiantynivka in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the regional governor said. The strike hit a residential district of the town in the morning, Vadym Filashkin stated on social media. Ukrainian-held parts of the Donetsk region regularly come under Russian shelling and air strikes. Russian forces control a large part of the region, which Moscow claims along with four other Ukrainian regions as its own territory.
Donetsk also remains one of the hottest areas of fighting as Russia targets areas in the direction of the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk. At least four people were killed in Russian shelling in Donetsk on Wednesday. Thursday’s shelling came as Russian forces battled Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region. The Ukrainian forces smashed through the border three days ago, in what Moscow said was an attempt to force Russia to divert resources from the battle front in Ukraine.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
