The Ukrainian Air Force said on Friday that it shot down 13 Russian cruise missiles overnight targeting a military airfield in the west of the country. “All thirteen Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles were destroyed by air defense,” the air force said on Telegram. “This time the attack targeted a military airfield in the Khmelnytsky region” (west), she said.
Russia has stepped up its nightly bombardment of Ukraine with explosive drones and missiles since May, as Ukraine began its long-awaited counter-offensive in the Russian-occupied east and south. “The (missile) launches were carried out around midnight from the Caspian Sea from four Tu-95MS bombers,” the Ukrainian Air Force said.
The mayor of Khmelnytsky, Oleksandre Symchychyne, reported explosions in this city which had 275,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion launched at the end of February 2022 before thanking the air defense for its work. Ukraine also reported on Friday some advances in the south where its troops had “partial success”, according to Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Kovaliov.
In the east, the Ukrainian army “continues to contain the offensive of Russian troops” and “particularly difficult fighting continues”, he said. “Our defense forces have stopped the enemy offensive in the Kupiansk and Lyman area,” Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said on Telegram in the morning.