Ukraine's air defense neutralizes 194 enemy UAVs, 16 strikes recorded across 10 locations
The Defense Forces of Ukraine shot down or suppressed 194 of the 211 Russian drones used to attack the country’s airspace. Strikes by 16 UAVs were recorded across 10 locations, and falling debris was documented at 11 sites, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
"On the night of March 16 (starting from 18:00 on March 15) and throughout this morning, the enemy attacked with 211 strike UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera, and Italmas types, as well as drones of other types from the directions of Orel, Kursk, Briansk, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russia), and Hvardiiske (occupied Crimea). Over 100 of these were Shaheds… The main directions of the strike were the Odesa, Zaporizhia, and Kyiv regions," the Air Force statement on Telegram reads.
Military officials noted that the attack was characterized by an atypical morning strike using various types of strike drones heading toward the Kyiv region.
"According to preliminary data as of 11:00, air defense shot down or suppressed 194 enemy UAVs… across the north, south, and east of the country. 16 strike UAVs hit 10 locations, and debris from downed targets fell at 11 locations," the Air Force informed.
This brings the effectiveness of air defense against drones during this wave to 91.94%. The attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare (EW) units, unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups.
As previously reported, on the night of March 15, the Defense Forces neutralized 90 out of 97 enemy UAVs, with 5 strikes recorded at 5 locations.
On the night of March 14, the enemy launched a massive air strike where the Defense Forces neutralized 460 out of 498 aerial targets, with 6 missiles and 28 strike drones hitting 11 locations. Specifically, that effort eliminated: one Zircon anti-ship missile; 7 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles; 25 Kalibr cruise missiles; 24 Kh-101 cruise missiles; one Kh-59/69 guided air missile; and 402 enemy UAVs of various types.
