Soldiers of anti-aircraft missile troops have already shot down over 3,000 Russian targets - Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his nightly video address, Ukrinform reports.

"First of all, I congratulate our anti-aircraft warriors - the warriors of the anti-aircraft missile troops of the Ukrainian Air Force, who are celebrating their holiday today. I thank you for every target you have shot down, warriors! More than 3,000 targets have been shot down: more than 180 aircraft, more than 130 helicopters, nearly 40 ballistic and more than 1,000 cruise missiles, more than 1,600 drones of various types... All this means thousands and thousands of lives saved by you, hundreds of critical infrastructure facilities that you have protected," Zelensky said.

He said that during this war, eight anti-aircraft missile brigades received the honorary award "For Courage and Bravery."

Also, according to him, more than 1,100 anti-aircraft warriors received state awards, and eight of them were awarded the highest title - Hero of Ukraine. In particular, he noted, they are Colonel Serhiy Yaremenko, Lieutenant Colonels Volodymyr Vesnin, Andriy Kruhlov, Serhiy Poberezhets, Artem Sharkov, Dmytro Shumakov, Major Yaroslav Melnyk and Senior Lieutenant Artem Slisarchuk, who was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.

On July 3, Ukraine marks the Day of Anti-Aircraft Missile Troops of the Ukrainian Air Force.