Russia launched "a massive attack" overnight using various missile types and Iranian-made Shahed drones, according to Ukraine's military, as the Black Sea quickly becomes a new focus for both Moscow and Kyiv.
Russian forces attacked 70 times "in several waves" between Saturday and Sunday, Ukraine's air force said in an operational update posted to social media.
Ukraine intercepted a total of 17 Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles after the first wave of strikes was launched from the Black Sea, Ukraine's military said. Air defenses shot down 13 out of 20 Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles fired from Russian strategic bombers over the Caspian Sea, the air force added. Moscow also launched three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in the first wave, Kyiv said.
Ukraine did not disclose how many Kinzhals were intercepted. Newsweek has reached out to Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces for comment via email.
On top of the 30 cruise missiles destroyed, Ukraine shot down all 27 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched from the southeast, according to the military. Ukraine often reports barrages of Shahed drone strikes on its infrastructure and major cities.
In a statement on Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said it had launched a strike on air bases in Ukraine's western Khmelnitsky and Rivne regions.
"The target has been reached," the Russian Defense Ministry said on social media, adding: "All assigned objects are hit."
Throughout the ongoing almost 18-month-long war, Russia has frequently targeted Ukraine with waves of missile and drone strikes. In recent weeks, particularly since the Kremlin pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal that had allowed Ukraine to export food supplies from its ports in the region, Russia has struck sites along the Black Sea coastline.
But Ukraine has increasingly made use of its airborne and waterborne drones in the Black Sea to hit back at Russian targets, notably its Black Sea fleet bases at Sevastopol and Novorossiysk.
Russia frequently reports Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strikes on Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed from Kyiv back in 2014. Ukraine is making extensive use of new surface and semi-submersible drones to attack the Russian-controlled peninsula.
On Saturday, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said Ukraine was using its waterborne drones to "set conditions for future decisive operations" in the Black Sea region. Ukraine is "now striking much deeper into Russian rear areas and incorporating maritime targets," the think tank said.
Moscow's forces have placed defenses around key ports, designed to stop Ukrainian unmanned vehicles from reaching their targets. These include boom defenses, analysts previously told Newsweek.
