US secretary of state Antony Blinken also visited a drone manufacturing facility in Kyiv on the second day of a visit to reassure US support.
The Russian troops are pressing a fresh offensive in northeast Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Earlier on Wednesday, Russia’s defense ministry said that air defenses shot down 10 US-supplied Ukrainian missiles targeting the Crimean Peninsula, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent a second day visiting Kyiv, and Ukraine’s army battled to contain a front-line push by the Kremlin’s forces.
The ATACMS long-range ballistic missiles were destroyed over the Black Sea, the ministry said. The US included the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, in a military aid package in March.
Russian troops pressed their offensive in northeast Ukraine’s Kharkiv region that began last week, marking the most significant border incursion since the full-scale invasion began and forcing almost 8,000 local people to flee their homes. Together with Moscow’s weekslong effort to build on its recent gains in the eastern Donetsk region, the more than two-year war has entered a critical stage for Ukraine’s depleted army.
Russia Shoots Down 10 American Missiles; Putin’s Forces Repel Major Aerial Attack From Ukraine
(With inputs from agencies)