The most notable feature of Russia’s large-scale aerial attack on the night of 27-28 August was the large number of missiles launched, two of which struck a residential building in Kyiv. The Ukrainian Air Force has once again stressed the need for more assets to counter Russian aggression.

Source: Colonel Yurii Ihnat, Head of Communications of the Air Force Command, during the 24/7 national joint newscast

Quote: "It was a combined attack, one of the largest. We previously had a record of over 740 aerial assets, but this time most of them were missiles, unlike earlier, when they were mostly drones. The enemy is increasingly using drones with jet engines – that is, high-speed UAVs – and they deployed them last night as well… Another notable feature of this attack which the world needs to see is that two cruise missiles hit a residential building.

The enemy used an enormous number of assets today, and it was very challenging for the defence forces to repel them."

Details: Ihnat used a football analogy to illustrate the difficulty of defending against such attacks: “Imagine a goalkeeper facing ten forwards, and each one has a ball. He simply doesn’t have enough hands or feet to stop all the balls at once. That’s putting it in simple terms. A better result could be achieved if we had enough air defence systems.”

Ihnat noted the high success rate of ballistic missile interceptions, reporting that Ukrainian air defences shot down seven of the nine ballistic missiles that Russia launched last night.

He acknowledged the significant damage caused by direct hits and falling debris from destroyed aerial assets, but emphasised that behind the numbers lie the immense efforts of thousands of defence personnel who carry out air defence operations.

F-16 fighter jets and all available assets were deployed to intercept missiles and drones during the 28 August attack, Ihnat added.

He also criticised a Telegram channel for posting detailed online tracking of Russian missile routes, calling this unacceptable.

Background:

On the night of 27-28 August, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine using loitering munitions as well as air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. A total of 629 aerial assets were launched, 589 of which were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence.Fifteen people, including four children, have been killed and dozens of others sustained injuries in the large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv. The death toll may still rise.

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