Ukraine says Russia has launched the biggest aerial attack since the start of the war

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7. "Ukraine used its full arsenal to repel the attack, including combat aircraft, officials said. F-16 fighter jets provide

Russia hits Ukraine with biggest attack of the war; F-16 pilot is killed

Zelenskyy renews calls for Washington to sell Patriot missile systems to Kyiv after Kremlin strikes Ukraine with 537 missiles and drones.
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-ukraine-biggest-attack-war-f16-pilot-kill/

By Veronika Melkozerova

KYIV — Russia hit Ukraine with 537 drones and missiles overnight Sunday in Moscow’s largest attack of the war, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

Ukraine shot down 475 of missiles and drones, the air force said, while one Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed in the action. It was the largest assault the Kremlin has unleashed since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion in early 2022.

The Russian attack started Saturday evening and continued for more than six hours, Ukrainian officials said. Drones and missiles targeted Cherkasy, Lviv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Kyiv, injuring a dozen people, destroying residential buildings and storage facilities, as well as critical infrastructure around the country, the officials said.


Neighboring Poland scrambled jets and activated its ground-based air defense units into readiness mode because of the attacks across the border in Ukraine.

Ukraine used its full arsenal to repel the attack, including combat aircraft, officials said. F-16 fighter jets provided by Western allies have become a key tool for defending against Russia’s missile attacks.