MOSCOW: The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it had destroyed Ukraine’s military air base and its air defenses, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military offensive against its neighbor.
“Military infrastructure at Ukrainian army air bases has been rendered out of action,” the defence ministry said in a statement carried by news agencies, which added that Kyiv’s air defence systems were “eliminated”.
On the other hand, Ukrainian military claimed to have downed five Russian planes and a helicopter in the east of the country near a rebel-held enclave.
“According to the Joint Forces wCommand, today, February 24, in the area of the Joint Forces operation, five planes and a helicopter of the aggressors were shot down,” the army general staff said.
