Ukraine said on Wednesday that it had drawn on stocks of antiaircraft missiles recently replenished by the United States and other allies to shoot down 29 of 30 missiles and exploding drones that Russia had fired at the country in an overnight barrage.
It was one of the better rates of interception by Ukraine so far during the war and underscored the impact of having fresh supplies of Western weaponry to bolster a war effort that had struggled mightily in recent months.
In Kyiv, the authorities said they had shot down an entire volley of missiles and exploding drones aimed at the capital as the devices approached or soared above the city. The aerial duel, between mostly Western-provided air defense systems and incoming Russian missiles, played out over the city shortly before 3 a.m.
Earlier in the year, Ukraine’s air defense ammunition had run perilously low. Commanders at some batteries said their missiles were being rationed, allowing Russian missiles to streak in unimpeded. President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly appealed for additional U.S.-made Patriot air-defense systems.
Mr. Zelensky reiterated the request on Wednesday when missiles or falling debris struck an apartment block in Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, killing eight people and wounding 21 others. Those missiles were fired after the initial wave early on Wednesday.
The Biden administration has decided to give Ukraine one additional Patriot system, consisting of launchers, stocks of missiles and powerful radar antennas for finding targets. Other countries are also considering transferring Patriot launchers to Ukraine. Germany has organized the donation of 100 missiles from its stocks and those of Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, of which 32 have been delivered so far, Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, said this week.