Russian air defenses shot down 3 Ukrainian fighter jets in 24 hours: Defense ministry

Russia’s air defenses shot down three Ukrainian military aircraft over the past day, the defense ministry said on Tuesday, as Moscow continues its large-scale missile barrage on Ukraine.

Defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: “Air defense capabilities destroyed three Ukrainian Air Force planes. Two Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters were shot down near the settlements of Ulyanovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Mirolyubovka in the Kherson Region.”

He added that a “Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 plane was downed near the settlement of Veletenskoye in the Kherson Region.”

The war rages on as Russia’s offensive over the past few months failed to result in significant gains for Moscow despite the fierce fighting between the two sides. Kyiv is now preparing a major counterattack after having been equipped with hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles supplied by its Western allies.

The spokesman also said that Russian forces targeted and destroyed dozens of Ukrainian troops, military sites storing weapons and equipment, and ammunition depots in several regions in Ukraine over the past day.

He added that Russian air defenses have intercepted eight rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and two HARM anti-radar missiles of the Ukrainian army over the course of the past 24 hours.

The Russian announcement comes a day after Moscow said it successfully launched missile strikes overnight targeting military locations in Ukraine such as ammunition factories and weapons depots.

“Overnight, Russia’s armed forces launched a group of missile strikes using high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons against Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

It added that “the objectives of the strike were achieved… The work of enterprises making ammunition, weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian troops has been disrupted.” However, Moscow did not provide any evidence to support this. Al Arabiya English could not independently verify the Russian account.

Konashenkov added that since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian armed forces “destroyed 416 Ukrainian combat aircraft, 230 helicopters, 3,919 unmanned aerial vehicles, 421 anti-aircraft missile systems, 8,938 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,095 multiple rocket launchers, 4,709 field artillery guns and mortars and 9,911 special military motor vehicles.”