Ukraine launches counterattack, ‘downed’ 5 Russian planes, helicopter

The Ukrainian military claimed today to have “downed five Russian planes and a helicopter” in the Luhansk region, east of the country near a rebel-held enclave, reports Reuters.

“According to the Joint Forces Command, today, February 24, in the area of the Joint Forces operation, five planes and a helicopter of the aggressors were shot down,” the army general staff said.

This comes after Russian forces started firing full-scale attacks at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin’s instructions what he called a “special military operation” in the east.

Vladimir Putin cast aside international concerns and sanctions, warning countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to consequences.

Russia, on the other hand, has claimed that it destroyed Ukraine’s airbases and air defenses. “Ukrainian air defenses have been neutralized,” state-owned Sputnik reported, citing Russia’s Defence Ministry.

“The military infrastructure of Ukrainian military air bases has been put out of action,” it quoted Russian Defence Ministry as stating. “The air defenses of the armed forces of Ukraine have been neutralized”.

According to a report by the Associated Press (AP), Ukraine’s border guard agency said that the Russian military has attacked the country from neighboring Belarus.

Source: BBC, Reuters, NDTV, AP