Only since the beginning of March 2024, Russian troops have launched 130 missiles of various types, more than 320 Shahed drones and almost 900 guided aerial bombs over Ukraine.
This was stated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Ukraine has proven that it can effectively shoot down any missiles and drones of Russian terrorists. We can destroy Russian military aircraft. Such actions of ours save thousands of lives and enable the Ukrainian economy to function," Zelensky noted.
However, the president emphasizes Ukraineʼs need for greater protection — "a quite realistic number of air defense systems that partners have."
"Patriot and other systems should do what they were designed to do, which is protect life, not gather dust in storage. And I thank everyone in the world who understands this and helps us protect life. Russian terror must lose," says the president.
In general, according to the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Ivan Havrylyuk, since the beginning of 2024, Russia has dropped 3 500 aerial bombs on the positions of Ukrainian troops. This is 16 times more than last year. He told the Ukrinform news agency about this.
"Russian combat aircraft dominate the sky. Enemy fighter jets are actively using guided aerial bombs on our positions on the battle line and near-front areas," Havrylyuk noted.
According to him, Western F-16 fighter jets should "break" the dominance of the Russians in the air, which will increase the capabilities of the Defense Forces of Ukraine on the ground.
"But at the moment the situation is such that we still do not have F-16, and stocks of ammunition of certain categories are falling to a critical level. These and other factors make it difficult for the Defense Forces of Ukraine to fulfill the tasks of repelling the aggressor," says the Deputy Minister of Defense.
- It was also reported that this year Russian troops tripled the intensity of shelling of the Sumy region. According to the head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration Volodymyr Artyukh, the occupiers destroyed 40-50% of the housing stock in the border settlements. The most powerful strikes are carried out by aircraft that drop guided aerial bombs, with 111 such attacks in the last week alone.