Russians fired 25 cruise missiles at Ukraine at night, 23 of them destroyed

On the night of May 8-9, Russian troops fired 25 Kalibr and Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles at Ukraine. The air defense units destroyed 23 missiles.

"The enemy attacked the territory of Ukraine with sea-launched and air-launched cruise missiles. Around 22:00 on May 8, the enemy launched eight Kalibr cruise missiles from carriers in the Black Sea, targeting the eastern regions of the country. All eight were destroyed by the air defense forces and means of the Air Command ‘East’," Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny posted on Telegram.

Around 04:00 on May 9, according to Zaluzhny, the invaders fired 17 Kh-101/Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles from strategic aircraft – four Tu-95ms (Caspian Sea area).

"The air defense forces and means of the Air Command ‘Center’ destroyed 14 cruise missiles, one more [was downed] in the area of responsibility of the Air Command ‘South’. A total of 15 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles were destroyed," he added.

Read also: Ukraine’s Air Force launches 16 strikes on enemy positions

In total, Zaluzhny emphasized, during two waves of attacks on Ukraine on the night of May 8-9, 2023, the Russian occupiers launched 25 Kalibr and Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles. Twenty-three of them were destroyed by the air defense units of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in cooperation with the components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.