Russia claims shooting down Ukraine's Su-27 fighter jet, 15 UAVs

MOSCOW

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that one Su-27 fighter jet and 15 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down in night strikes at Ukraine's military infrastructure.

Also, the air defense systems intercepted two shells from Smerch multiple rocket launcher, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a press briefing in Moscow.

Besides, an oil refinery and tanks with gasoline and diesel fuel were destroyed with high-precision air- and sea-based weapons, Konashenkov added.

The aviation hit 153 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment, two Grad multiple launch rocket systems, and a US-made radar station while the rocket forces struck 15 control points, 520 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment, six artillery units in firing positions, as well as a warehouse of missile weapons, he noted.

"In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 165 aircraft, 125 helicopters, 842 unmanned aerial vehicles, 304 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,032 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 368 multiple rocket launchers, 1,491 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 2,869 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed," the spokesman also said.

At least 3,541 civilians have been killed and 3,785 others injured since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates. The true toll is feared to be much higher.

More than 6 million people have fled to other countries, with some 7.7 million people internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.