New Delhi, Mar 12 (IANS): The Russian Defence Ministry claimed at 9 am Moscow time on Saturday that units of the People's Militia in the Donetsk Republic, with fire support from Russian armed forces, took control of Valerianovka, Zeleny Gai and blocked Novoandreevka from the south and east.

The grouping of troops of the Lugansk People's Republic, continuing its offensive operations, took control of Surovtsevka, Schedrischevo and Zhitlovka, besides blocking Rubezhnoe.

It claimed that the Russian armed forces, continuing their offensive on a broad front, reached Novodonetskoe, Novomayorskoe and Pavlovka. The advance was 21 km.

On Saturday morning, high-precision long-range weapons attacked Ukraine's military infrastructure.

The military airfield in Vasylkov and the main centre of radio and electronic intelligence of the Ukrainian armed forces in Brovory have been disabled, it claimed.

The Russian aviation and military air defence also shot down five unmanned aerial vehicles, including two Bayraktar TB-2 and one Tochka-U tactical missile.

Operational-tactical and army aviation hit 145 military assets of the Ukrainian armed forces, Russia claimed.

In total, during the operation, 3,491 objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine were disabled, it said.