Ukraine says it shot down hundreds of Russian drones, missiles

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine on Wednesday said that it shot down hundreds of drones and missiles launched by Russia in an overnight attack, while Poland also accused Moscow of violating its airspace.

A statement by Ukraine’s Air Force on Telegram claimed that its air defenses downed 386 out of 415 various types of drones, as well as 27 out of 43 various types of missiles, launched by Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on US social media company X that the attack notably targeted 15 of the country’s regions, including Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr, leaving at least one person dead.

Citing Polish statements that “drone-type objects” violated Polish airspace, Zelenskyy said the incident is “another step of escalation.”

Claiming that at least eight strike drones "aimed toward" Poland during the overnight attack, he said it is an “extremely dangerous precedent” for Europe, calling for pressure on Moscow so that it feels the ongoing conflict “cannot be expanded and will have to be ended.”

“The pause in sanctions has gone on far too long. Delaying restrictions on Russia and its accomplices only means increasing the brutality of the strikes. Sufficient weapons are needed to deter Russia. A strong response is needed – and it can only be a joint response by all partners,” Zelenskyy went on to say.

In a later statement on X, the Ukrainian president said that increasing evidence indicates the movement of the "drone-type objects" which crossed Polish airspace was “no accident,” and that they are “recording a much larger scale and deliberate targeting.”

“Ukraine is ready to provide Poland with all the necessary data available regarding this Russian strike. Ukraine is also ready to help Poland build an effective system of warning and protection against such Russian threats,” Zelenskyy said.

He argued that only joint and coordinated action can guarantee “reliable security,” underlining the dispatch of aircraft to shoot down the Russian drones as “highly significant.”

Overnight, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command on X reported that fighter jets belonging to the country and its allies were scrambled as “drone-type objects repeatedly” violated its airspace.

“This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens,” the command said, noting that an operation is underway to intercept the objects, which it later announced was completed.

It also declared that a search for the location of possible crash sites of objects that violated Polish airspace is ongoing.

Poland has occasionally claimed the crossing of Russian drones and missiles into its airspace during overnight strikes in its southeastern neighbor amid the ongoing Ukraine war.

Russian authorities have not immediately commented on the Ukrainian and Polish claims, though its Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses shot down 122 drones launched by Ukraine towards the country.