Ukraine says it shot down 29 of 30 Russian missiles in late-night bombardment: report

18 May 2023

Almost 15 months after Russian forces launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, the war rages on. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the Biden administration's support, has vowed to keep fighting. But Russian President Vladimir Putin is showing no signs of giving up either despite the heavy toll the invasion has taken on his country militarily, politically and economically.

Early Thursday morning, May 18, Russian forces, according to the Associated Press (AP), fired 30 cruise missiles into different parts of Ukraine. And Ukrainian officials say that 29 of them were shot down.

AP's Susie Blann reports, "One person was killed and two were wounded by a Russian missile that got through and struck an industrial building in the southern region of Odesa, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the region's military administration."

Blann reports that according to a "western official" interviewed on condition of anonymity, Russian forces had established "potentially formidable" defense lines in Ukrainian territory.

But the journalist adds, "As Ukraine receives sophisticated weapons systems from its western allies, the Kremlin has started losing warplanes in areas previously deemed as safe, the official said, while Kyiv has proven able to shoot down Russia's hypersonic ballistic missiles — the most advanced weapons in Moscow's arsenal."

Find the Associated Press' entire report at this link.

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