Ukrainian shoots down up to 70% of Russian missiles - Kyiv’s defense commander

Today, some 50 to 70% of enemy missiles get downed by Ukraine’s air defense forces, including by warplanes and anti-aircraft missile units.

The head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Major General Mykola Zhyrnov, addressed the issue while speaking with Armyinform, reports Ukrinform.

"The analysis of Russian air and missile strikes shows that from 50 to 70% of enemy missiles are shot down by air defense forces, by both warplanes and anti-aircraft missile units. However, unfortunately, today we can’t ensure 100% effectiveness of air defense efforts, which is due to objective factors, such as the insufficient stocks of intelligence equipment, aviation, and anti-aircraft missile systems. Basically, these are Soviet systems, which can’t boast the same efficiency and reliability as the air defense equipment of NATO partner countries," he said.

Answering a question about the current situation in the capital, Zhyrnov noted that "the more or less calm situation is a result of painstaking work by the military, law enforcement, and the city’s critical infrastructure services... The fact that we are seeing no terrorist attacks and that the enemy's sabotage and reconnaissance groups are not operating is due to these people’s work as they prevent this from happening," he said.

Zhyrnov recalled that at the onset of the large-scale aggression targeting Kyiv, there were many sabotage groups operating in the area, but thanks to the efforts of defense forces, sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been eliminated. Due to preventive efforts by law enforcement 408 members of such sabotage and recon groups were detained across Kyiv since invasion start.

At the same time, the military official noted that citizens need to remain vigilant because some of these groups remain idle, awaiting orders.

As reported earlier, since day-start on Sunday, September 4, the enemy has been bombarding Ukraine with various types of air and surface-based missiles. Namely, it’s Kh-59 and Kh-31 guided air missiles, P-800 Onyx anti-ship missiles, and Iskander-K cruise missiles.