Russia, again, launches drones, S-300 missiles on Ukrainian infrastructure

Ukraine overnight on Friday was targeted with Iranian-made drones and S-300 missiles, with several hits in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, the Ukrainian Air Force Command said in a statement.

The Russians attacked from the southeast, launching 13 Shahed-136 UAVs from the east coast of the Sea of Azov and four missiles from the S-300 system, attacking military and infrastructure facilities.

Ukrainian air defence destroyed 10 of the 13 attack drones.

According to local authorities, two women, both 66, died in the Zaporizhzhia region after the attack, and another, a 52-year-old, was evacuated after being wounded.

In total, the Russians attacked 16 settlements, destroying thirty-one buildings, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, Yuriy Malashko, said.

Russia has been regularly launching missile and drone attacks on Ukraine since last September, apparently in an attempt to exhaust Ukrainian air defences, which have prevented it from using aviation more freely.

In turn, Ukraine’s bolstered up its air defence capabilities with Western systems, including Patriot, NASAMS, and IRIS-T systems, as well as preliminary arrangements to train its pilots for F-16 aircraft.