Russia attacked Ukraine with 119 drones; air defense forces destroyed 97 targets
On the night of June 17, Russian forces launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, deploying 119 strike and decoy drones of various types. Air defense forces destroyed most of the enemy targets, but were unable to completely prevent any hits.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the enemy used Shahed attack drones—including jet-powered variants—as well as “Gerbera” and “Italmas” drones and “Parodia” decoy drones.
The launches were carried out from Russian territory and the temporarily occupied Crimea.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces deployed aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems, and mobile fire groups to repel the air attack.
As of 08:00, Ukrainian air defense forces had shot down or neutralized 97 enemy drones in the north, south, and east of the country.
At the same time, 20 attack drones were recorded striking 11 locations, and debris from downed drones was found in six locations.
The Air Force emphasized that the air attack was still ongoing as of this morning, as isolated enemy drones remained in Ukrainian airspace.
“The attack is ongoing; there are several enemy drones in the airspace. Follow safety guidelines!” the Ukrainian Air Force reported.
Russia continues to regularly carry out combined attacks using strike drones and decoy drones in an attempt to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense system and strike civilian infrastructure.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram.
Over the past day, Russian troops launched massive strikes on the Kherson region, attacking 44 settlements in the region with artillery and drones. Two people were killed and 11 others were wounded as a result of the enemy shelling.
As a reminder, on the afternoon of June 16, Russian troops launched a drone strike on a private residence in the Odesa district. The enemy attack significantly damaged a single-story residential building and caused a fire, which was quickly extinguished by rescuers from the State Emergency Service.
Russian troops attacked civilians in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, with an FPV drone. Three people were killed in the strike. This was reported by Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration.
Prior to this, Russian KAB bombs struck the Zaporizhzhia region, leaving several people wounded.
Five rescuers from the State Emergency Service were killed as a result of a Russian attack on Kharkiv.
