The military published photos taken by a Ukrainian pilot that show the jets in action intercepting the missiles. Earlier, France 24 reported that Ukraine used the French-supplied Mirage-2000 jets for the first time to repel a large-scale missile and drone Russian attack.

The Ukrainian military has achieved success in countering Russian air attacks. "Ukrainian forces shot down a challenging-to-intercept Iskander-M ballistic missile and nearly 80 out of 126 Russian military strike drones,

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday a Russian missile attack hit the southern port city of Odesa overnight, killing four Syrians and injuring several other people. Oleksiy Kuleba, vice prime minister for reconstruction, said on Telegram that the missile struck a cargo ship that was being loaded with wheat set to be exported to Algeria.

Russia launched three Iskander-M ballistic missiles from Crimea at Odesa and Kryvyi Rih, along with an attack involving 133 Shahed strike drones and other types of UAVs from various directions. Read also: Russian daily assaults highlight Ukraine’s air defense missile deficit Preliminary reports confirm the

Russian forces launched a combined attack on Ukraine in the night from March 12 to 13. Air defense systems operated across 11 regions of Ukraine, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.

The Russians have attacked Ukraine with a Iskander-M ballistic missile, 117 Shahed attack UAVs and decoy drones of various types since the evening of 12 March. Ukraine's air defence has managed to down 78 drones.