Kyiv's missile shield held against an onslaught of 30 Russian cruise missiles that hit across Ukraine in waves between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
There was some damage in the Ukrainian capital from falling debris, but no reported casualties. As with an attack earlier this week, Ukraine said the missiles were fired from air, sea, and land, and the country claimed Western-supplied air defenses intercepted all but one.
"Forces and anti-air defense equipment of the Air Force, in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, destroyed 29 winged missiles," said Ukraine's General Staff on its Facebook page. "Of strategic aviation aircraft: two Tu-160 and eight Tu-95 launched 22 winged missiles. Of the ships in the Black Sea six winged caliber rockets. As well as two winged missiles "Iskander-K" from the ground-operative-tactical rocket complexes."
The Ukrainian military said several areas besides Kyiv were targeted, including Bakhmut, Kherson, and Odesa. In Odesa, one missile got through, killing one person and wounding two others, according to the Associated Press.
Ukraine broke its silence over reports that one of the two Patriot missile batteries supplied by the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands was damaged in Tuesday's attack.
U.S. defense officials, speaking on background, said an indirect hit damaged a Patriot system protecting Kyiv but was "still operational," and critically, the sophisticated phased array radar was not hit.
"Everything is fine with the Patriot," a Ukrainian air force spokesman told the Washington Post in a text message.
Russia claimed it had destroyed the billion-dollar system with one of its hypersonic Kinzhal air-launched missiles. Still, in an ominous sign, three Russian academics who work on hypersonic missile technology have been arrested over the past year, according to some of their colleagues.
In an open letter published Monday, the scientists said the three experts on hypersonic technology have been charged with treason for "speaking at conferences abroad, publishing articles in popular magazines and participating in international projects."
Belgium is the latest country offering to train Ukrainian pilots to fly American-made F-16 fighter jets as pressure builds on the U.S. to end its opposition to providing modern warplanes to Ukraine at this time.
Prime Minister was quoted in the Belgian newspaper De Morgen as saying, "During the summit in The Hague earlier this month, the issue of the F-16s was also discussed during the meeting between Ukrainian President and the Prime Minister. We have said that we cannot supply aircraft, but we can train pilots."
The Pentagon maintains that at this stage of the war, F-16s would be of little use for the same reason that Russia's air force has been largely neutralized. Ukrainian and Russian air defenses are so robust it's not possible to gain air superiority.
"Right now, the skies on both sides are just absolutely lethal," Defense Secretary told the Senate Appropriations Committee this week. "So, anytime that you put any meaningful number of aircraft in the sky, one or the other is going to shoot it down."
On Monday, Zelensky was promised by the British Prime Minister that the United Kingdom would train pilots and seek to secure the Lockheed Martin F-16s from other countries.
"We spoke about the Jets, which were important topic for us," Zelensky said after meeting with Sunak outside London. "In the closest time, you will hear some, I think, important decisions, but we have to work a little bit more on the conflict between Ukraine, and Russia continues to escalate, with Ukraine's missile shield holding against a barrage of 30 Russian cruise missiles that hit across the country in waves.
The missiles were fired from air, sea, and land, and Ukraine claimed Western-supplied air defenses intercepted all but one. While there was some damage in the Ukrainian capital from falling debris, there were no reported casualties. Several areas besides Kyiv were targeted, including Bakhmut, Kherson, and Odesa, where one missile got through, killing one person and wounding two others.
Ukraine broke its silence over reports that one of the two Patriot missile batteries supplied by the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands was damaged in Tuesday's attack. U.S. defense officials said an indirect hit damaged a Patriot system protecting Kyiv but was "still operational," and the sophisticated phased array radar was not hit. Russia claimed it had destroyed the billion-dollar system with one of its hypersonic Kinzhal air-launched missiles. Still, in an ominous sign, three Russian academics who work on hypersonic missile technology have been arrested over the past year.
Belgium is the latest country offering to train Ukrainian pilots to fly American-made F-16 fighter jets as pressure builds on the U.S. to end its opposition to providing modern warplanes to Ukraine at this time. The Pentagon maintains that at this stage of the war, F-16s would be of little use for the same reason that Russia's air force has been largely neutralized.
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