On the night of November 16–17, 2024, Russian occupiers launched a massive combined attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. They used missiles of various types—air-, land-, and sea-based—as well as Shahed-type kamikaze drones.
Preliminary data indicates that the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine detected and tracked 210 enemy aerial targets, including 120 missiles and 90 attack drones.
Types of missiles involved:
- 1 hypersonic ship-launched missile, 3M22 "Zircon";
- 8 aeroballistic missiles, Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal";
- 101 cruise missiles, Kh-101 and Kalibr;
- 1 ballistic missile, Iskander-M;
- 4 cruise/anti-radiation missiles, Kh-22/Kh-31P;
- 5 guided aviation missiles, Kh-59/Kh-69.
The attack involved 7 Tu-160 strategic bombers, 16 Tu-95MS, 2 Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, 5 Su-34 fighter-bombers, 4 Su-27 fighters, 10 MiG-31K fighters, and 4 missile-carrying ships.
All available air defense forces and means operated along the route of the missiles and drones, including aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare systems, and mobile fire teams of the Air Force and Ukraine's Defense Forces.
As of 12:00, preliminary data indicates the destruction of 144 aerial targets, including:
- 1 hypersonic missile, 3M22 "Zircon";
- 7 aeroballistic missiles, Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal";
- 85 cruise missiles, Kh-101 and Kalibr;
- 4 cruise/anti-radiation missiles, Kh-22/Kh-31P;
- 5 guided aviation missiles, Kh-59/Kh-69;
- 42 attack UAVs, including Shaheds.
Due to the effective work of Ukraine's Defense Forces, 41 enemy drones were shot down over different regions of the country, while two returned toward Russia and temporarily occupied territories.
Air defense systems were active in most regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Volyn, and Lviv regions.
Hold the skies strong! Together to victory!
