Ukraine claimed success in shooting down 29 of the 30 cruise missiles fired by Russia on Thursday night. However, when one of the missiles struck a factory, it killed one person and injured two more.
Officials in Ukraine have said that one missile made it through their country’s air defense system and hit the building in the Odesa neighborhood in the south.
The Ukrainian military claims the missiles were launched from the sea, the air, and the ground. Fires broke out in the eastern part of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, due to debris from the missiles that defensive systems had destroyed. No injuries were reported as a result of the falling objects.
According to reports from Ukraine, two Iranian-made attack drones were also reportedly destroyed.
The Ukrainian military has said that Russia had launched 18 missiles at various places within the country on Tuesday, and Thursday’s incident is the latest in a series of such strikes. The military claims that all 18 have been exterminated.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned from a European trip earlier this week, when he spoke with Ukrainian allies, not long before the Russian assault began. As a result of his journeys, he secured pledges for expanded military aid, including deploying missile defense systems.
Germany has promised Ukraine about $3 billion in aid, including the donation of tanks, anti-aircraft systems, and ammunition.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom promised to send hundreds more air defense missiles and attack drones to Ukraine during Zelensky’s visit there. His travels took him all around Italy and France as well.
Zelensky and Ukraine’s top diplomat was in Kyiv the week of the incident, where they met with China’s special ambassador to Ukraine. At the time of the meeting, China was attempting to broker a peace deal in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. It seems that the effort did not produce any valuable outcomes.
