Russia announces the downing of 287 Ukrainian planes since the start of the war and the killing of dozens of Ukrainians in Nikolaev
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that 287 planes and 151 helicopters have been shot down by the Ukrainian army since the war began last February.
Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that his country’s forces managed in the last 24 hours to destroy 11 tanks, 17 military vehicles and 10 armored vehicles in the Mykolaiv and Krivorogsky regions.
He pointed to the killing of more than 150 Ukrainian soldiers, and the downing of a Sukhoi-25 aircraft.
He also referred to the killing of 120 Ukrainian soldiers and the destruction of an ammunition depot in the Kramatorsak region.
He explained that the Russian forces were able to shoot down 287 military aircraft, 151 helicopters, 1,872 drones, and 372 air defense systems.
He added that it also destroyed 4,804 tanks and armored vehicles, 824 rocket launchers, 3,367 artillery, and 5,276 military vehicles.There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian side on the Russian spokesman’s statements.
On February 24, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine, followed by international rejection and severe economic sanctions against Moscow, which stipulate to end its operation that Kyiv abandon plans to join military entities and remain neutral, which the latter considers an “interference” in its sovereignty.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the killing of dozens of Ukrainian forces while trying to position themselves in areas towards the Nikolaev Province overlooking the Black Sea.
Russia Today (RT) TV channel quoted the ministry as saying that the Ukrainian forces are trying to gain a foothold in certain areas in the direction of Nikolaev-Krivi and Rog.
The Russian forces inflicted heavy losses on the Ukrainians, represented in the destruction of 11 tanks and 17 infantry fighting vehicles, including four US-made “Bradley” infantry fighting vehicles, 10 other armored fighting vehicles, and 5 pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns.
The Russian army “managed to eliminate more than 150 soldiers, in addition to this, the air defenses shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter”.
On February 24, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine, followed by international rejection and severe economic sanctions against Moscow, which stipulate to end its operation that Kyiv abandon plans to join military entities and remain neutral, which the latter considers an “interference” in its sovereignty.
On the other hand, the US ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, left Moscow on Sunday after the end of his mission, the US diplomatic mission announced in a statement.
The embassy said, “Ambassador to the Russian Federation John Sullivan’s mission as envoy to the United States has left Moscow”.
Sullivan was appointed ambassador to Moscow in December 2019.
After his departure, he will put an end to his career in public service, which lasted four decades and under five US presidents.
Sullivan, 62, originally from Boston, Massachusetts, was an assistant secretary of state during the era of former President Donald Trump, and held several important positions in the departments of Justice, Defense and Commerce in the United States.
Elizabeth Rudd, deputy chief of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow, will serve as charge d’affaires until Sullivan’s successor arrives, the embassy said, without providing any further details.
Sullivan’s departure comes at a time when relations between the United States and Russia are experiencing their worst crisis since the end of the Cold War.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the United States has imposed packages of economic sanctions on Moscow and in return provided military support to Kiev.
In recent weeks, the US embassy in Moscow has been at the fore in the attempt to release US citizens detained in Russia, including basketball player Britney Greiner, who was sentenced last month to nine years in prison for “drug smuggling”.
