Russia launches over 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine, air defense downs 144 targets
Illustrative photo: Ukrainian air defense shot down 144 out of 210 Russian drones and missiles during a massive attack on November 17 (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Russia conducted a massive shelling of Ukraine on November 17, launching 210 missiles and drones. Air defense systems shot down 144 targets, according to Air Force of Ukraine.
“On the night of November 17, the Russian occupiers launched a massive combined attack on the energy sector facilities of Ukraine with missiles of various types of air, land, and sea-based missiles, as well as Shahed-type attack UAVs,” the statement said.
According to preliminary data, the Air Force's radio engineering troops detected and escorted 210 air targets - 120 missiles and 90 UAVs. Namely:
- one 3M22 Zircon hypersonic ship missile
- 8 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles
- 101 cruise missiles Kh-101, Kalibr
- one Iskander-M ballistic missile;
- 4 Kh-22/Kh-31P cruise/anti-radar missiles;
- 5 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles;
- 90 attack UAVs/drones of unspecified type.
Air defense operation
During the night, all available air defense forces and means were deployed along the route of the missiles and drones. Aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare equipment, and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and the Defense Forces of Ukraine were involved.
According to preliminary data, 144 air targets were shot down - 102 missiles and 42 UAVs:
- 1 3M22 Zircon hypersonic shipboard missile;
- 7 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles;
- 85 Kh-101 Kalibr cruise missiles;
- 4 Kh-22/Kh-31P cruise/anti-radar missiles;
- 5 Kh-59/69 guided missiles;
- 42 strike UAVs/drones of unspecified type (from Kursk, Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk areas).
As a result of active counteraction, 41 Russian UAVs were lost in different regions of Ukraine, and two more UAVs flew towards Russia and the temporarily occupied territory.
Air defense was operating in almost all regions of Ukraine - Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Volyn, and Lviv regions.
Features of the Russian attack
According to the military, Russia used 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 cruise missile carriers in the air attack.
Russians have hardly ever used Tu-160 aircraft to shell Ukraine before. Before that, there was only one known case of an attack from such aircraft during the war - on May 1, 2023.
Russia's massive attack on Ukraine
Russian troops massively attacked Ukraine, shelling electricity generation and transmission facilities. Emergency blackouts were introduced in several regions on the instructions of Ukrenergo to minimize the impact of the attack.
There were casualties in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Odesa, and the Dnipro region. Railroad workers were killed in the Dnipro region. The most difficult situation after the Russian attack is in Odesa.
The threat of repeated massive Russian shelling of Ukraine may persist until the inauguration of the new US President Donald Trump. According to expert Oleksandr Musiienko, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin may repeat such attacks almost every week.
Read more about the consequences of the massive attack on Ukraine in the RBC-Ukraine report.
