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Russia launches biggest aerial attack since start of the war, Ukraine says
Ukraine loses an F-16 and its pilot while defending against heavy Russian air attack
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Russia launched its biggest aerial attack against Ukraine, a Ukrainian official said on Sunday, part of an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the three-year-old war.
Russia fired a total of 537 aerial weapons at Ukraine overnight into Sunday, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. Of these, 249 were shot down and 226 were lost, probably having been electronically jammed.
The onslaught was “the most massive air strike” on the country since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, taking into account both drones and various types of missiles, Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s air force, told Associated Press. The attack targeted several regions, including western Ukraine, far from the front line.
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Poland and allied countries scrambled aircraft to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the country’s air force said.
Three people were killed in each of the drone strikes in the Kherson, Kharkiv and the Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to the three governors.
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