(EFE).- The Ukrainian Air Force shot down another Russian combat plane this Sunday on the Eastern Front, the fourth in two days, as reported on its Telegram account.
Early in the morning, the soldiers of the Eastern Air Command “landed another Russian plane, a Su-34 fighter-bomber, in this direction,” the Air Force noted ironically.
The day before, he already claimed to have destroyed two Su-34 fighter-bombers and one Su-35 fighter in the same direction.
In addition, during the night air defense systems intercepted 12 Iranian Shahed drones and a Kh-59 guided missile, the Air Force said.
In addition, during the night air defense systems intercepted 12 Iranian Shahed drones and a Kh-59 guided missile
Russian forces launched a total of six S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles, three Kh-22 cruise missiles, one Kh-59 missile and 14 Shahed drones.
The information arises in an attempt by Ukraine to iron out the withdrawal of its troops from Avdivka, one of kyiv’s strongholds in the Donbas, while Russia proclaims its biggest victory since the capture of Bakhmut, in May 2023.
“This operation (the withdrawal from Avdivka) has not been a tragedy for the Ukrainian Army,” said the spokesman for the Ukrainian military group. TavriaDmitro Likhovi, who stressed that the troops fulfilled their mission of “depleting the Russian reserves.”
He added that in the area of responsibility of his group only from January 1 to February 16, Russian troops lost, between dead and wounded, 20,607 troops, 201 tanks and 492 armored cars, most of them in the sector from Avdivka.
Lijovi stressed that all units that were in danger of being surrounded by Russian troops in Avdivka were withdrawn to more advantageous defensive positions and continue to fulfill combat missions and prevent further enemy advance.”
“We will not give anything to these murderers, of that I am sure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last night on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
According to him think tank American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian air superiority, to which was added the shortage of ammunition experienced by the Ukrainian artillery, determined the fate of Avdivka.
Ukraine assures that from January 1 to February 16, Russian troops lost, between deaths and injuries, 20,607 troops, 201 tanks and 492 armored cars
The city, located less than 10 kilometers north of the regional capital of Donetsk, controlled by Russia since 2014, fell after being attacked incessantly since last October.
“Eternal glory to those who fell in carrying out the missions of the special military operation,” wrote Russian President Vladimir Putin in a congratulatory message to General Andrei Mordichev, commander of the Russian forces that took control of Avdivka. .
After months without progress on the front, this military victory fits Putin perfectly for his re-election campaign for a fifth term in the elections next March.
According to the Russian command, only in the past day the enemy (Ukraine) lost more than 1,500 soldiers and the total area of ”liberated territory” was 31.75 square kilometers.
“The order of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, (Oleksandr) Sirsky to leave the city was given after Ukrainian troops began to flee Avdivka in a disorderly manner,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
According to the Russian command, only in the last day the enemy (Ukraine) lost more than 1,500 soldiers and the total area of ”liberated territory” was 31.75 square kilometers
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov stated that Russian troops continue their offensive operations in the Avdivka area. “Our units develop the offensive. They do not allow the enemy to gain a foothold in new lines,” Peskov said, quoted by the official TASS agency.
For his part, the president of Ukraine never tires of repeating, as he stated yesterday at the Munich Security Conference, that his country urgently needs long-range weapons and artillery projectiles in sufficient quantity to stop and counteract the superiority in arms of Russia.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called for speeding up the delivery of weapons to Ukraine because we cannot “wait any longer”, since the conflict can be resolved in a few months on the battlefield. “Every European must understand that we are in a war situation,” said Borrell in a round table held during the Munich Security Conference.
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