Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a Facebook post marking Air Force Day, Ukrinform reports.

"Today, the Air Force is much more than just one branch of the military. It is a component of our defense that, in many ways, truly shapes the course of this war. Ukrainians did not surrender – and will not surrender – their skies to Russia. That is one of our nation's greatest achievements throughout this full-scale war. We did not allow our Air Force to be destroyed, and have built it up to the point where Russia regularly loses its aircraft. And now, when the only thing – the last thing – Putin has left to bet on is his massive attacks against Ukraine, the Air Force, our combat aviation, is destroying Russian cruise missiles and trying to destroy ballistic missiles as well. And when our Patriot batteries aren't empty, it succeeds. It is important that, thanks to our cooperation with Europe, our IRIS-T, Hawk, and NASAMS systems are operating," he wrote.

He stressed that Ukraine is fighting every day to secure missile supplies and thanked partners around the world who are helping with this.

"Of course, ballistic missiles remain a challenge. But we have provided Ukraine with protection against a significant share of cruise missiles, and we are shooting down a great many. Our interception rate against attack drones is also above 90%, and that is a truly significant achievement for Ukraine – for all of us, for every one of you," Zelensky added.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine