New Delhi, Feb 25 : Russia on Friday claimed to have destroyed 118 military facilities and shot down five fighter aircraft of Ukraine, the Defence Ministry said in a statement here. “In the course of a special military operation, the Russian Armed Forces destroyed 118 military facilities of the military infrastructure of Ukraine. Among them are 11 airfields, 13 command posts and communication centres of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 14 S-300 and Osa anti-aircraft missile systems, 36 radar stations,” a Ministry spokesperson said. “We have shot down 5 fighter aircraft, 1 helicopter, 5 unmanned aerial vehicles, 18 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 7 multiple rocket launchers, 41 units of special military vehicles and 5 combat boats were destroyed.” The grouping of troops of DPR and LPR continued counter offensive operations against units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with fire support from the Armed Forces of Russian Federation, the statement added. Russia claimed that the troops of “Donetsk People’s Republic” in the Volnovakha direction advanced one more km deep into the defence of the nationalist battalions, similarly, the troops of “Luhansk People’s Republic” in the Stepovoe area advanced to a depth of up to 9 km. Russia claimed that during the hostilities, more than 150 servicemen of various power structures of Ukraine laid down their arms and surrendered. It further claimed that after the stabilisation of situation in the combat area, all surrendered Ukrainian servicemen will be released. Giving details about the Chernobyl nuclear plant, the Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson said that Russian Airborne Troops took full control of the territory in the area on Thursday. The spokesperson further claimed that an agreement was reached with the servicemen of a separate battalion of protection of the nuclear power plant of Ukraine on joint security of the power units and the sarcophagus of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Russia claimed that the radioactive background in the area of the nuclear power plant was normal. “NPP personnel continue to maintain NPP facilities in the normal mode and monitor the radioactive situation,” the Ministry said. “The joint actions of Russian paratroopers and Ukrainian servicemen of the NPP security battalion to defend the plant is a guarantee that terrorist organisations will not be able to take advantage of the current situation in the country to organise a nuclear provocation,” the statement added. ASU RJ
