Moscow, Mar 15 (IANS): Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson, Major General Igor Konashenkov, claimed on Tuesday that the armed forces of the Russian Federation has taken full control of the entire territory of Kherson.
The spokesperson said that the grouping of troops of the Donetsk People's Republic and the continuing offensive broke through the defence of Ukrainian nationalists, and took control of Panteleimonovka before reaching the Verkhnetoretskoye-Novoselovka-2 line.
"Over the past day, aviation and air defence of the Russian air forces shot down 16 air targets: 1 Su-24 and Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, 1 Mi-8 helicopter and 13 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, including 6 Bayraktar TB-2," Konashenkov said.
Konashenkov also said that operational-tactical, army and unmanned aviation hit 136 military infrastructure assets of Ukraine, including 7 command posts and communication centres, 4 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3 multiple launch rocket systems, 4 radar stations for reconnaissance, target illumination and targeting of S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, 1 electronic warfare station, 4 ammunition and fuel depots and 72 areas of military equipment concentration.
The Russian forces claimed that three hangars containing 4 Ukrainian Su-25 assault aircraft, 1 Mi-24 and 5 Mi-8 helicopters were destroyed at a military airfield near Kramatorsk.
In total, 156 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,306 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 127 multiple launch rocket systems, 471 field artillery and mortars, and 1,054 units of special military vehicles of the Ukrainian armed forces have been destroyed.
On the evening of March 14, units of the Russian Airborne Troops captured a strong point of nationalists and foreign mercenaries near Guta-Mezhigorskaya, it claimed.
Russian paratroopers also seized 10 US-made Javelin anti-tank missile systems and a number of other weapons supplied by western countries to Ukraine, the Russian forces claimed.
All seized Javelin anti-tank missile systems and other foreign weapons have been handed over to the units of the People's Militia of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics.