Ukrainian air defence units shot down all the kamikaze drones of the Russian occupation army that attacked Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force has reported.
What is known about repelling a night attack by Russian drones
It is noted that during the night the Russian invaders launched 20 attack UAVs of the "Shahed-131/136" type from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk regions over Ukraine.
Fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft missile forces of the Air Force, mobile fire groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and electronic warfare units were involved in repelling the air attack, said Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Air Force.
According to his information, enemy drones were shot down in the sky over 5 regions of Ukraine.
in the Kharkiv region,
in the Poltava region,
in the Vinnytsia region,
in the Odesa region,
in the Mykolayiv region.
What analysts say
According to analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Ukrainian military currently has a shortage of air defence systems to destroy reconnaissance drones of the occupation army of the Russian Federation.
Analysts note that Ukraine's acquisition of air defence systems from Western partners can solve this problem.
In particular, the ISW refers to experts from the Royal United Services Institution (RUSI) of the United Armed Forces dated May 14.
Analysts emphasise that Ukraine had to compensate for the decrease in the supply of air defence systems from Western partners.
Due to the lack of air defence systems, it became much easier for reconnaissance drones of the occupation army of Russia to fly into the rear of the Ukrainian military.
Thus, reconnaissance drones of the criminal army of Russia began to fly more often over Kharkiv, and the occupying army optimised its own reconnaissance and strike complex.
RUSI analysts note that for most of the time since the beginning of the invasion of the occupation army of Russia into Ukraine, the Armed Forces were more or less equipped with air defence systems and missiles for them, which allowed limiting the capabilities of Russian reconnaissance drones.
However, the reduction in the supply of air defence systems forced the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to make difficult decisions for the deployment of air defence systems in the areas of critical infrastructure facilities and in the rear areas near the front line.
The analysts of the IWJ emphasise that the Russian occupation army continues large-scale air aggression, in particular against Kharkiv, against the background of an offensive operation in the border areas of Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian troops need Western-made air defence interceptors to destroy Russian reconnaissance drones in the rear and on the front line, as well as to defeat the optimised Russian air defence that enables Russian tactical advance along the front, ISW emphasises.
