Russia fired hundreds of missiles and attack drones into Ukraine on Monday, targeting critical infrastructure and other sites across the country in what Ukraine said was the largest aerial bombardment of the war.
Ukraine’s air force said it detected 127 missiles launched by Russian aircraft, ground forces, and warships, as well as an additional 109 drones. Kyiv said it destroyed 102 missiles and 99 drones during the massive barrage.
At least seven people were killed in the attack, and dozens more were injured, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said Monday evening local time.
The Russian attack involved several different types of weapons, including 28 Kalibr cruise missiles that were fired from “surface” and “underwater carriers in the eastern part of the Black Sea,” Ukraine’s air force said, indicating launches from surface warships and submarines.
The involvement of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet shows it’s still capable of carrying out large-scale attacks on Ukraine despite taking heavy losses.
Ukraine says it has sunk, damaged, or destroyed at least a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet since the start of the war — a notable success given that Kyiv doesn’t have a proper navy of its own.
Ukrainian military and security forces have relied heavily on domestically produced naval drones and anti-ship missiles to engage in asymmetrical warfare and curb the Russian naval threat.
The Ukrainian campaign has ultimately forced the Black Sea Fleet to disperse from its headquarters in the southwestern corner of the occupied Crimean peninsula and relocate to the eastern part of the region, closer to Russia, where the Kalibr missiles were fired from on Monday.
Despite these substantial setbacks to the fleet, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy said earlier this year that Russia maintained a serious presence in the Black Sea, including a combination of missile carriers, submarines, and patrol ships.
Three Russian cruise-missile submarines were spotted in the broad Black Sea area just a few weeks ago.
On Monday, Russia also launched ballistic missiles and cruise missiles from other platforms during its huge bombardment, including Tu-95 strategic bombers, Su-34 fighter-bombers, and Su-57 fifth-generation aircraft, Ukraine said, adding that its forces shot down 201 of the 236 aerial threats.
Business Insider was unable to verify the Ukrainian claims.
Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine’s air force, said in a statement, “All available weapons and equipment were used to repel the air attack: aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces of the Air Force, mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defence Forces and electronic warfare units.”
John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said the US was focused on providing Ukraine with critical air-defense systems and interceptor missiles to defend itself against such attacks in the future.
“Their air defense performed really well during these attacks,” he told reporters on Monday. “Clearly, some things got through. But they knocked the majority out of the sky, and we have to make sure they can continue to do that.”
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