Ukraine Has Downed 5,500 Air Targets Since Start of War, Says Zelensky

The Ukrainian Air Force has shot down more than 5,500 Russia air targets heading for the war-torn country, according to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking in an address to mark Ukraine's annual Air Force Day celebrations on Sunday, the Ukrainian president said that since February 2022, Ukraine had intercepted more than 3,500 Russian aircraft, helicopters and missiles. Air defenses have also shot down over 2,000 of Moscow's attack drones, Zelensky said in a readout published by his presidential office.

Throughout Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin's forces have targeted Ukrainian sites with several types of missiles, as well as Iranian-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) heading for Ukraine's cities and infrastructure targets.

Ukrainian pilots have carried out more than 14,000 combat missions in the almost 18 month-long war, Zelensky said, adding: "I thank all of you, Ukrainian warriors, for every downed Russian missile and every destroyed enemy drone."

Newsweek could not independently verify Zelensky's figure, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

On Sunday morning, Ukraine said Russian forces had launched "a massive attack" on the country overnight, using both missiles and suicide drones. Kyiv's air defenses intercepted 17 sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles, 13 Kh-101 and Kh-555 air-launched missiles and an unknown number of hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.

Ukraine shot down all of the 27 Iranian-made Shahed "kamikaze" drones launched between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, the Ukrainian air force said. Moscow's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that it had attacked air bases in Ukraine's western Khmelnitsky and Rivne regions.

"The target has been reached," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram, adding: "All assigned objects are hit."

In Zelensky's nightly address, he then said Western-made air defense systems, including the Patriot anti-aircraft system, were "powerful" and "very effective" against Russian targets.

"They have already yielded significant results," the Ukrainian president continued.

Ukraine has previously said a number of Russia's "Kinzhal" missiles, also known as the "Dagger" or the "Killjoy," have been shot down by the U.S.-made Patriot system. Moscow has touted the hypersonic missile as invincible and impossible to intercept, but Western governments said Ukraine had shot down a "Kinzhal" in early May with a Patriot system.

In mid-June, Ukraine said it had shot down more than two dozen "Kinzhal" missiles over the previous few months. "Western weapons save Ukrainians and Ukrainians destroy Russian myths," the Ukrainian government's strategic communications center said at the time. The "Kinzhal" missiles have been used in Ukraine since March 18, 2022, according to the state news agency Tass.

In Zelensky's Sunday address, he said it was "only a matter of time" before Ukraine operated Western jets like the U.S.-made F-16, "which will add even more power to our defense."

"The Ukrainian Air Force has already become the most powerful in all the years of its existence, and it will become even more powerful," Zelensky said.

Ukraine has long called for Western-made fourth-generation fighter jets, although no country has yet promised to provide them, despite Ukrainian pilots heading into an F-16 training program. Kyiv has also stressed its need for more air defense systems.