Ukrainian air defence repelled a Russian air attack overnight on Monday, taking down most of the kamikaze drones and all 17 cruise missiles, the country’s Air Force said in a statement.

The Russians used eight Tu-95MS strategic bombers to launch the missiles, targeting the Dnipro, Poltava, and Khmelnytskyi regions of Ukraine.

Mykola Oleshchuk, the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, posted a video of an IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile system intercepting two air targets.

"There was a third one, too," Mr Oleshchuk added, implying that the system shot down three Russian missiles.

Of the 24 Shahed kamikaze drones launched in the direction of the Mykolaiv and Odesa regions, in southern Ukraine, 18 were taken down.

It is the latest in a series of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine with drones and missiles, aimed at depleting Ukrainian air defence capabilities and destroying civilian infrastructure.

war in UkraineAir ForceAir Force of UkraineIRIS-TMykola Oleshchukmissile attack