Russian Defense Ministry details ongoing air defense successes during the Ukraine operation
The Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation reported that on the final day of the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian forces shot down 19 rockets from the American HIMARS multiple launch rocket system in three populated areas in the air.
The ministry asserted that Ukrainian attempts to strike were repelled in Sukhaya Kamenka in the Kharkiv region, Melitopol in the Zaporozhye region, and the Antonovka area in the Kherson region.
Additionally, three Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missiles were intercepted mid-air over residential zones in Prudyanka, Kharkiv region, and Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson region, according to the defense ministry.
Throughout the operation in Ukraine, Russian forces say they destroyed substantial Ukrainian air defense systems, MLRS vehicles, and field artillery pieces. The ministry reported the neutralization of 363 anti-aircraft missile systems, 791 MLRS combat vehicles, and 3276 artillery pieces and mortars belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Earlier, the Defense Ministry claimed the destruction of a Ukrainian MLRS unit designated “Alder” and a batch of HIMARS near the village of Pyatigorsk in the Kharkov region.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation to safeguard Donbass in response to requests for assistance from the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Several Western countries imposed broad sanctions on Russia and began providing military and financial support to Kyiv. In particular, the United States supplies HIMARS MLRS to Ukraine, and the Pentagon pledged to continue deliveries in July. The U.S. government also worked to rally other states to extend such aid to the Ukrainian forces, according to public statements at the time .