Ukraine has been under a massive attack by Russia for more than a day, with the south, center, east, and west of the country being hit. At the same time, air defense forces are demonstrating high efficiency - most air targets have been destroyed. This was reported by the Air Force, according to UNN.
According to official data, as of the morning of March 24, air defense forces destroyed or suppressed 390 air targets. In particular, these include 365 enemy drones, 18 Kh-101 cruise missiles, 5 Iskander-K cruise missiles, and 2 Kh-59/69 guided air missiles. In total, the enemy used 426 air attack weapons.
Despite the scale of the attack, Ukrainian air defense demonstrates stable effectiveness, especially against subsonic cruise missiles.
The attack continues and may intensify
Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov, advisor to the Minister of Defense, notes that the current shelling has not yet ended and Russia may use additional means of destruction.
Currently, in my opinion, the enemy has spent up to 40% of the weapons prepared for the attack. The attack on Ukraine continues. I assume that today we will also see missiles. Our enemy constantly changes the tactics of massive strikes, trying to find vulnerabilities and break through our air defense. Now the strategy of a strike stretched over time has been chosen
One of the longest attacks of the war
Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko, in a comment for UNN, emphasizes that this attack is one of the longest since the full-scale invasion.
This, one might say, is one of the longest attacks in the entire period of the war. It all started with a massive raid on Odesa and the region. Then the attack spread to other regions of Ukraine
According to him, the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense in intercepting cruise missiles remains high.
The complete neutralization of threats in the form of subsonic cruise missiles demonstrates the high level of our air defense. The same applies to Iskander-K type missiles
High efficiency against "Shaheds"
Separately, the expert noted the consistently high level of destruction of Shahed-136 attack drones, which remain one of Russia's key tools of terror. It is against these targets that Ukrainian air defense demonstrates one of the best efficiencies.
According to Oleksandr Kovalenko, the interception rates of such drones remain very high even despite the massiveness of the attacks.
If we talk about Shahed-type drones, the effectiveness of their destruction is currently maintained at about 85-90%. This is a very high indicator, given the scale of the attacks and the fact that the enemy constantly changes routes and tactics of use
He added that it is precisely because of this that Russia is forced to combine strikes and use different types of weapons.
They cannot achieve results exclusively with "Shaheds", so they combine them with missiles. But even with such tactics, most drones are destroyed on approach
The problem is ballistics
At the same time, the main threat remains from ballistic missiles.
The problem with ballistics, as it was, remains. Where there is no appropriate cover, the enemy can inflict virtually irreversible strikes
Why the attack is stretched over time
The expert believes that Russia is testing a new tactic - exhausting Ukrainian air defense.
They are trying to stretch the attacks over time to exhaust our air defense - both in terms of ammunition and physically and psychologically. The second factor is the lack of results at the front. Therefore, they compensate for this with terror against the civilian population
According to him, the current offensive campaign of the Russian Federation is one of the weakest.
This is one of the worst starts of an offensive campaign in the entire war. Therefore, they are resorting to tactics of terror
Is there military sense in striking railway stations
Recently, the media has been actively writing about possible strikes on Ukrainian railway stations. Kovalenko also commented on the prospect of raids on railway infrastructure.
Railway logistics are quickly restored. Russia has already tried to hit it - the result was minimal. If the strikes are on railway stations - this is not military expediency, it is exclusively terror
What to expect next
Despite one of the longest and largest attacks, Ukrainian air defense maintains control over the situation and destroys most air targets.
At the same time, the enemy is changing tactics, relying on exhaustion and psychological pressure, as well as strikes on civilian infrastructure, which indicates a lack of results on the battlefield.