Russia says intercepted and destroyed 2 HIMARS rockets, 42 drones launched by Ukraine

Russian air defense forces intercepted two rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) and destroyed 42 drones launched by Ukraine over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

“Air defense capabilities intercepted two rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system. In addition, they shot down 42 unmanned aerial vehicles near the settlements of Olshana, Yagodnoye and Liman Perviy in the Kharkov Region, Belogorovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Peski and Andreyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Novofyodorvka in the Zaporozhye Region and Peschanovka in the Kherson Region,” the Russian ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency TASS.

The Russian armed forces have in total destroyed 534 Ukrainian warplanes, 254 helicopters, 8,871 unmanned aerial vehicles, 441 surface-to-air missile systems, 13,358 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,183 multiple rocket launchers, 7,071 field artillery guns and mortars and 15,207 special military motor vehicles since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, according to the ministry.

On the other side, Kyiv said the Russian army attacked southern Ukraine with a ballistic missile, likely an Iskander-M, and Kh-59 guided aerial missiles overnight.

“Trying to bypass the air defense systems, the guided missiles were directed along a difficult route. However, the air defense forces managed to destroy a guided missile in the Mykolaiv region. The second [guided missile] and the ballistic missile hit the open space of the region,” Ukraine’s southern defense forces said in a statement carried by state news agency Ukrinform.

Additionally, Ukraine said that in the Tavria sector, Russians increased the number of air strikes, including those involving the use of guided aerial bombs.

General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria operational-strategic group of troops, said: “The enemy has increased the number of air strikes, including those involving guided aerial bombs. In the Tavria sector, the enemy launched 30 air strikes, conducted 48 combat engagements and fired 712 artillery shells,” according to Ukrinform.

Overall, the total combat losses of Russia’s troops inflicted by Ukrainian forces amounted to: 311,750 military personnel dead, 5,349 tanks, 10,073 armored combat vehicles, 7,559 artillery systems, 881 multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), 580 air defense systems, 322 fixed-wing aircraft, 324 helicopters, 5,632 tactical UAVs, 1,560 cruise missiles, 22 ships and boats, 9,944 vehicles and tankers, and 1,078 special vehicles and other equipment, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.