Ukrainian military and government officials say nearly half of the Russian missiles and drones launched on Ukrainian territory are being neutralized by air defenses, but they emphasize the need for more defense systems.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Russian attacks continued on Tuesday on energy facilities, with 33 missile strikes so far.

The Ukrainian Air Force Command announced that the same number had been destroyed by 1:30 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. Eastern Time), saying that 20 cruise missiles and 13 "kamikaze drones" had been destroyed.

It added, "Overall, Air Force forces and aircraft destroyed 33 aerial targets." The Air Force Command said the Russians were using a mix of cruise missiles - including 16 high-precision X-101 / X-555 weapons launched from aircraft and 12 Kalibr-type cruise missiles - in addition to Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.

It appears that the Russians launched somewhat fewer missiles on Ukraine on Tuesday compared to Monday, when Ukrainians said 84 missiles were fired, 43 of which were shot down. Additionally, Ukrainians claim they shot down 26 Shahed drones on Monday. The Ukrainian army said on Tuesday that "the majority" of Iranian-made attack drones were shot down.

Air Command spokesman Yurii Ihnat said air defenses rely mostly on equipment dating back to the Soviet era such as BUK M1 and S-300 missile systems. He said, "This equipment does not last forever, there may be losses in combat operations," noting that "the manufacturer of this [equipment] is Russia, so we have to say goodbye to them sooner or later."

Call for more military assistance: Ihnat repeated the call made by many Ukrainian officials for better air defense weapons, saying, "We need a lot because Ukraine's territory is very large ...

We have long been promised modern air defense complexes." He said Germany promised "one IRIS T battery, which was specifically manufactured for Ukraine" and that Norwegian partners "will provide two NASAMS batteries." He also claimed Russia had few high-precision missiles left, leading to increased reliance on less precise systems.

Edited by: Yusra Bamtarf