Ukraine says downed 13 cruise missiles overnight

Escalating Russian rocket attacks in Ukrainian territory have injured non-combatants such as this resident from Pokrovsk on June 21, 2023. (AP)

• Ukraine also said that it had shot down a Russian reconnaissance drone overnight

KYIV: Ukraine said Friday it had downed an entire barrage of 13 cruise missiles fired by Russian forces overnight targeting an airfield in the west of the country.
“Thirteen of the occupiers’ cruise missiles were destroyed on June 23... This time the attack was aimed at a military airfield in the Khmelnytskyi region,” the Ukrainian air force said on social media.
Russia launched waves of aerial attacks with cruise missiles and attack drones over the winter, prompting Kyiv to appeal to its Western allies to bolster its air defense systems.
“The launches were carried out around midnight from the Caspian Sea from four Tu-95MS bombers,” the air force statement said.
The mayor of Khmelnytskyi Oleksandr Symchyshyn reported explosions in the town with a pre-war population of around 275,000 and praised Ukrainian air defense systems.
Ukraine also said that it had shot down a Russian reconnaissance drone overnight.