Air Defense Forces down 144 targets as Russia launches 120 missiles and 90 drones over Ukraine
Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
From the evening of November 16 through the night and morning of November 17, Russian forces launched a massive air attack on Ukraine involving 210 aerial targets. Ukrainian air defense successfully intercepted 102 missiles and 42 drones.
This was reported by the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as cited by Rubryka.
According to the military, the attack, beginning at 8:00 p.m. on November 16, targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure using:
- Missiles of various types launched from air, land, and sea.
- "Shahed" strike drones.
Preliminary data from the Air Force's radio engineering troops indicate they tracked and monitored 210 enemy air targets: 120 missiles and 90 UAVs.
"The enemy deployed 7 Tu-160 and 16 Tu-95MS strategic bombers, 2 Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, 5 Su-34 fighter-bombers, 4 Su-27 fighters, 10 MiG-31K fighters, and 4 missile carriers," the Air Force Command stated.
The enemy launched strikes using:
- 1 hypersonic cruise missile, 3M22 "Zirkon."
- 8 Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" aeroballistic missiles.
- 101 Kh-101 Kalibr cruise missiles.
- 1 Iskander-M ballistic missile.
- 4 Kh-22/Kh-31P cruise/anti-radiation missiles.
- 5 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided air missiles.
- 90 attack UAVs/drones of unspecified types.
Throughout the night, all available air defense systems operated along the trajectory of missiles and drones, including aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare systems, and mobile fire groups from the Air Force and Defense Forces of Ukraine.
By 12:00 p.m., preliminary reports confirmed the downing of 144 air targets:
- 1 hypersonic cruise missile, 3M22 "Zirkon."
- 7 Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" aeroballistic missiles.
- 85 Kh-101 Kalibr cruise missiles.
- 4 Kh-22/Kh-31P cruise/anti-radiation missiles.
- 5 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided air missiles.
- 42 attack UAVs/drones of unknown type, launched from Kursk, Orel, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk regions in Russia.
Additionally, due to active countermeasures by the Defense Forces, 41 enemy UAVs were locationally lost across various regions of Ukraine. Two more UAVs flew back toward Russia and the temporarily occupied territories.
Combined missile attack on Ukraine on November 17
On the night of November 17, Russia launched a large-scale combined attack on multiple regions of Ukraine. Seven Tu-95MS bombers were observed taking off from Olenegorsk, Russia, deploying cruise and ballistic missiles. Attack drones were also used earlier in the evening.
In addition to Kyiv, explosions were reported in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Rivne, and the Cherkasy region.
In Kyiv, the air alert lasted nearly five hours. Air defense forces intercepted several cruise missiles, multiple "Kinzhal" and "Iskander-M" missiles, a hypersonic "Zirkon" missile (reportedly), and about ten attack UAVs.
The Kyiv City Military Administration (KMVA) reported that in the Pechersk district, the roof of a five-story residential building caught fire and partially collapsed. One person was injured and handed over to medics.
In the Odesa region, the energy infrastructure suffered severe damage, resulting in disruptions to heating, water, and electricity supplies. Two people were killed, and a teenager was injured.
