U.S. Navy destroyers shot down Houthi missiles and drones for the second time in a month, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Tuesday.

The USS Stockdale (DDG 106) and USS O’Kane (DDG 77) successfully defeated a range of Houthi-launched weapons while transiting the Gulf of Aden on Dec. 9 and 10, the Navy said.

The ships were escorting U.S. owned and operated merchant vessels when they successfully engaged and defeated multiple one-way attacks, uncrewed aerial systems and one anti-ship cruise missile.

DISAPPROVAL MOUNTS BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD AS US AVOIDS DIRECT ACTION AGAINST HOUTHI REBELS

This attack marks the second in a month, with the first taking place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 when the ships defeated an Iran-backed Houthi attack.

US NAVY SHIPS REPEL ATTACK FROM HOUTHIS IN GULF OF ADEN 

“These actions reflect the ongoing commitment of CENTCOM forces to protect U.S. personnel, regional partners, and international shipping, against attacks by Iran-backed Houthis,” the command said in a statement.

The attacks took place while the vessels were transiting the Gulf of Aden from Dec. 9 to Dec. 10, CENTCOM said. (U.S. Central Command)

American personnel were not injured, CENTCOM added, and there were no injuries or damage to the ships.

The attacks against shipping are ongoing and Houthi militants vow to continue until Israel ends its campaign in Gaza.

At least three people were killed and 20 injured, many of whom are in critical condition, after a Russian strike on the city Zaphorizhzhia in Ukraine on Tuesday.

According to regional governor Ivan Fedorov, the strike hit a private clinic in the city centre, damaging buildings nearby.

“Medics, police and rescuers are currently working at the attack site,” he wrote on Telegram.

Among the victims were two doctors and a five-year-old girl.

At least 11 were injured in a separate, double ballistic missile attack on the town of Zlatopil in the Kharkiv region.

An administrative building and 16 residential buildings were damaged, according to local authorities.

In a post on social media platform X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Zaporizhzhia strike proves that Ukraine needs to enhance its air defence systems.

He added that Kyiv submitted all the necessary requests to its partners to do so.

The attack comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he’s open to the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security as part of a broad effort to end the almost three-year war with Russia.

The deployment would be a step toward Ukraine joining NATO, Zelenskyy said in a post on his Telegram channel.

His proposals tread a delicate diplomatic path amid international efforts to find a way of ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II at a time when Russia has gained an upper hand in the fighting.