NEWS

Ukraine officials say they shot down Russian cruise missiles

9, May, 2023

Ukraine officials say they shot down Russian cruise missiles

About 15 Russian cruise missiles which were aimed at Kyiv were downed by air defences, Ukrainian officials say.

No casualties were reported from the attack, according to Serhiy Popko, a senior Kyiv military official.

He said he believed the missiles had been launched from four bombers flying from the Caspian sea region.

The new missile attacks came hours before Russia was due to celebrate Victory Day.

The 9 May holiday commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War Two.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has compared the Ukraine war - which he falsely defines as a battle against a "neo-Nazi regime" - to Adolf Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine's air force wrote on Telegram that "overnight into the 'sacred' May 9, (Russia) launched an attack on the territory of Ukraine,"

Mr Popko said Russian forces were trying "to kill as many civilians as possible on this day".

ALSO READ: UKRAINE WAR: FEAR AND PANIC AS RUSSIA EVACUATES TOWN NEAR NUCLEAR PLANT
UKRAINE ACCUSES RUSSIA OF USING PHOSPHORUS BOMBS

The latest attacks come after Ukraine said Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the war yet on Sunday night.

That wave of drone and missile strikes killed at least one person and injured five.

As Russia prepares for the main event of Victory Day - a military parade - the mood is one of nervousness in Moscow.

A series of explosions, drone attacks and sabotage rocked Russia over the past week including an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin.

Moscow blamed Ukrainian drones but Kyiv denied any involvement.

NEWS