Natalia Humeniuk, the spokesperson for Southern Ukraine's Defense Forces, shared this information on the United News national telethon.
"We're seeing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, including reconnaissance drones, as well as air-launched missiles that follow intricate routes and engage in a lot of maneuvering. Their goal is to both exhaust and bypass our air defense system. This isn't the first time the enemy has employed such tactics. They're continually seeking ways to maximize their effectiveness," Humeniuk explained.
According to military sources, this tactic is not new for Russian forces, as they persist in refining their battle strategy. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian Defense Forces closely monitor Russia’s preparations for any impending attack.
"We had foreseen a similar course of events. The occupiers spend a certain amount of time preparing for such attacks, typically preceding significant events," the spokesperson added.
On the night of September 16-17, Russian terrorists targeted the city of Kharkiv. Additionally, there were strikes on agricultural land and grain storage in the Odesa region, fortunately without causing any human casualties.
Russian forces launched a total of 16 air targets over Ukraine. Ukrainian air defense forces successfully intercepted and destroyed 12 of them, including 6 Shahed drones and 6 cruise missiles.
Notably, Russia launched 6 Shahed-136/131 attack UAVs from the southeast and south directions, and 10 air-based missiles of the Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 type from 9 Tu-95ms strategic aviation aircraft based in Russia’s Engels district.