Russia attacks Ukraine with drones and ground-to-air missiles: air defense downs almost all targets
Photo: Telegram / Serhii Naiev
On Wednesday night, December 20, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using kamikaze drones and S-300 ground-to-air missiles.
The air defense successfully downed 18 attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to information from the Ukrainian Air Force, Rubryka reports.
Initially, the Air Force reported a group of attack UAVs moving toward the southern Odesa region, including the cities of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Zatoka.
By 21:31, new drones were detected coming from the direction of the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
Following their trajectory, the UAVs moved over the central Kirovohrad and Cherkasy regions. As of 22:58, there was a known threat to Kyiv, the Kyiv region, and the Chernihiv and Vinnytsia regions.
At 23:01, the Kyiv regional military administration reported the activation of air defense systems. The military administration in Kyiv stated that "kamikaze" drones were attempting to target the outskirts of the capital.
At 2:00, the drones were heading toward Vinnytsia. An hour later, the UAV group was moving toward the western Khmelnytskyi region.
At 04:05, air defense announced the threat of ballistic weapons in Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Kirovohrad regions.
In the morning, the Air Force reported that on the night of December 20, the Russians attacked with Shahed drones launched from the occupied Crimea with the launch areas of Chauda and Balaklava. Military sources emphasized that 19 Shahed launches were detected, with 18 successfully downed by the Ukrainian Air Force and defense forces.
Air Defense. Photo: Telegram / Ukrainian Air Force
The air defense operations covered Odesa, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kirovohrad regions, as noted by the Air Force.
The Russians also launched two guided missiles from the S-300 missile system located in the Belgorod Oblast, Russian Federation, toward the Kharkiv region. Fortunately, there were no casualties reported.
In Kharkiv, at least two impacts were recorded near residential buildings in one of the city's districts.
Also, in the early morning hours, several explosions were heard in Kropyvnytskyi. An air raid alert was issued within minutes.
To recap, during the Russian air attack on the night of December 18, occupiers targeted Ukraine with Shahed attack drones. All enemy targets were successfully eliminated by the Ukrainian air defense forces. Drones were shot down over Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, and Khmelnytskyi.
During the night of December 17, occupiers launched 20 attack drones, a guided aviation missile Kh-59, and an Iskander missile at Ukraine. The Ukrainian air defense successfully intercepted all drones and the Kh-59 missile.
In addition, Ukrainian air defense forces have been relatively successful in intercepting Russian "super weapons" such as the aeroballistic missiles "Kinzhal."
