Ukraine’s air defense forces successfully intercepted all five X-101 cruise missiles and eleven Shahed-131/136 drones launched by Russian forces in an overnight attack on 11-12 July 2024. The information was reported by Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Force of Ukraine.
Russia carries out air attack against Ukrainian cities far behind the frontline every day.
According to Oleshchuk, Russian forces launched five air-based cruise missiles of the Kh-101 type from strategic aviation aircraft in the evening of 11 July. Throughout the night, they also deployed 19 Shahed-131/136 one-way attack UAVs and drones of unidentified types.
The main direction of the attack was Starokostiantyniv in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, which hosts one of the Ukrainian air bases. The cruise missiles were launched from Saratov Oblast of Russia, while the drones were deployed from Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk Oblast of the Russian Federation.
The town of Starokostiantyniv in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, western Ukraine, hosts a military air base housing Ukraine’s Su-24 jets, which are uniquely capable of carrying UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. The base is frequently targeted by Russian missiles and drones.
Commander Oleshchuk says Ukrainian air defense systems successfully intercepted the missiles in Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, and Cherkasy oblasts. The drones were shot down in the Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Kherson, and Sumy oblasts.
Oleshchuk noted that the remaining eight drones were “locationally lost,” i.e. disappeared from radars possibly self-destructing or crashing. He suggested that the Russians might be using UAVs mimicking strike drones to overload Ukraine’s air defense systems.
The Commander emphasized that fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force, mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, and electronic warfare units were involved in repelling the enemy’s air attack.
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