Ukrainian forces said on Friday that they had struck Milerovo airport in Rostov, southern Russia – the latest strike on Vladimir Putin’s forces.
The published online footage shows the end of a missile strike on the air base of the Russian military base around 10 am local time (8 am GMT), as several buildings on the site were engulfed in flames and destroyed at least one of Moscow’s Su-30CM fighters in the explosion.
As of early Friday, Ukraine claimed to have shot down six Russian helicopters, up to seven fighter jets, including one at night, destroyed at least 30 tanks, killed or captured more than 800 soldiers.
Russian officials have made similar claims – that Moscow has captured more than 160 soldiers; 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities destroyed; shot down five fighter jets and a helicopter; and destroyed 18 tanks and other armored vehicles.
By Friday morning, the battle for Kyiv had escaped after fighting erupted 20 miles from the city in the early hours before the clashes were reported in the northern region just hours later. At least 37 Ukrainians, including several civilians, have been killed and hundreds more injured in fighting in the past 24 hours.
Kyiv’s army, which was left to face Moscow alone after NATO and the United States confirmed they would not put boots on the ground, is much lower than its Russian counterparts with an air defense and air force dating back to the Soviet era. era.
Few expect Ukraine to emerge victorious from what is almost certain to be a protracted, bloody and brutal war – but so far Kyiv forces have managed to inflict heavy losses on Putin’s troops.
Footage posted online purports to show the tail end of a missile strike on the Russian military’s airbase around 10am local time (8am GMT) with several buildings on the site engulfed in flames
Ukrainian forces claimed on Friday to have destroyed part of an airfield in Millerovo in southern Russia, destroying several of Moscow’s fighter jets
As of early Friday, Ukraine claims to have shot down six Russian helicopters, destroyed dozens of tanks and captured dozens of soldiers, including at least 10 soldiers (pictured) from Volnovakha in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
Flaming wreckage is seen falling from the skies over Kyiv, as Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian fighter jet
Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of Kyiv overnight, with wreckage falling on a house and leaving several people injured
Helicopters, jets and planes
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian fighter jet over Kyiv early Friday and later struck the Millerovo airport in Rostov, southern Russia, destroying at least one Su-30CM around 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. GMT).
Meanwhile, at the end of Thursday, the forces claimed to have shot down at least six helicopters, including four Russian attacking KA-52 Alligator helicopters during a battle for Gostomel Air Force Base on Thursday. A fifth helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in the field under heavy fire.
Just after noon on Thursday, the skies over Kyiv were crowded with a squadron of 20 Russian helicopters hitting the runway of the air base.
But Ukrainian ground forces began a resistance, retreating to reclaim the airfield as jets stormed the city, shooting down Russian helicopters.
The attack highlighted how close the invaders were to the capital. Soon after, the distant roar of fighters high above the city caused a new wave of panic.
Ukrainians also said their MiGs shot down at least one Mi-8 helicopter.
Ukrainian forces also claim to have shot down six Russian planes in the skies over the Eastern Donbass, while another plane appears to have fallen from the sky near the capital.
Shortly after 7pm GMT on Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said a Russian An-26 transport plane carrying military equipment had crashed in the southern Voronezh region near Ukraine, killing all crew members on board.
“During a planned flight to transport military equipment, an An-26 plane of the Russian Air Force crashed,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement issued by Russian news agencies.
“The crew died,” the statement said, without giving details.
The Ministry of Defense blamed the damage to the equipment for the crash, which he said did not cause any damage to the ground.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, speaking to AFP, confirmed the crash, but declined to say how many crew members were killed.
An-26 aircraft carry up to 6 crew members and up to 38 servicemen. In total, the Ukrainian armed forces claim to have shot down five planes and six helicopters.
Ukrainian forces downed a Russian fighter jet over Kyiv early on Friday (pictured, the wreckage) and later hit an airfield in Millerovo in Rostov, southern Russia, destroying at least one Su-30SM around 10am local time (8am GMT)
Firefighters attempt to extinguish the flaming wreckage of an aircraft which was shot down over Kyiv on Friday morning
By Friday morning, the battle for Kyiv had begun after fighting broke out in 20 miles from the city in the early hours before clashes were reported in a northern district just a few hours later
A Russian helicopter is shot down somewhere over Kyiv (left), while the wreckage of what appears to be a jet falls from the skies near the capital (right)
An image captured near Kyiv shows what appears to be the wreckage of a downed Russian attack helicopter with a soldier parachuting out of it (to the left of the frame)
Five helicopters were shot down or destroyed in the Gostomel area, including one that was forced to make an emergency landing under heavy fire as Ukrainian forces recaptured the airport.
tanks
Ukrainian forces destroyed dozens of Russian tanks on the eastern and northern borders by the end of the day on Thursday, adding two more and one combat vehicle to Trokhizbenko to be counted early Friday.
According to the country’s defense ministry, the figure is over 30 by the end of Thursday. They also claim to have destroyed “up to 130 armored combat vehicles.”
Ukrainian forces are firmly resisting around Kharkiv, where many Russian tanks and armored vehicles have been portrayed destroyed – with bodies lying in the streets.
Another BMP combat vehicle was later captured, along with a crew of four Russian soldiers, in the same region of eastern Ukraine.
And around 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT), the Ukrainian military said troops destroyed five armored vehicles and a car during fighting at the Vystupovich-Rudnya border checkpoint between Ukraine and Belarus.
Another 15 T-72 tanks were destroyed or damaged by Ukrainian forces with the help of Javelin PTRK, an American anti-tank missile, near Glukhov in the eastern part of the country late this afternoon.
Other incidents have claimed that British-donated tank-launched missiles destroyed Russian tanks, while Swedish-donated Javelin missiles destroyed a column of enemy vehicles.
At least 15 T-72 tanks were destroyed or damaged by the Ukrainian forces using the Javelin PTRK, an American anti-tank missile, nearly Glukhov in the country’s east late this afternoon
A BMP fighting vehicle was captured, along with four Russian soldiers, during fighting near Kharkiv, in the east of Ukraine, on Thursday morning
Troops
Dozens of Russian soldiers have been captured by Ukrainian forces, according to Kyiv’s Defense Ministry. The British Ministry of Defense estimated Moscow’s losses at around 450, although it was unclear whether this included captured or dead soldiers.
Videos released by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry early Friday allegedly show at least nine captured Russian soldiers, while ten others, many bloodied, were filmed detained near Volnovakha in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
Several Russian soldiers photographed by their captors say they believe they are conducting exercises in the border areas and did not know they were sent to invade Ukraine.
The allegation was repeated by the brigade commander of the 74th Motorcycle Rifle Brigade, believed to be a reconnaissance platoon of 20 to 50 soldiers allegedly surrendered to Ukrainian forces during the fighting. in Thursday.
Commander Konstantin Buynichev is said to have learned of the invasion only on Wednesday and believed they were returning home.
He allegedly said: “Nobody thought we were going to kill. We would not fight – we were gathering information. ‘
The announcement of the capture of Buinichev and his troops was published by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry with a photo of a commander with his arm bandaged and wearing a bloodied uniform that appeared to read “Russian Army”.
Videos posted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence early on Friday purported to show at least nine captured Russian soldiers
Several Russian troops videoed by their captors have claimed they believed they were conducting training exercises in the border regions and did not know they were being sent to invade Ukraine
A Russian vehicle with what appear to be corpses of Russian troops laying nearby is seen on the streets of Kyiv on Friday after fighting broke out in the suburbs
Ukrainian forces detain servicemen of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic who were captured during the Thursday morning attack on the town of Schast’ye
Servicemen from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic were captured by the Ukrainian military on Thursday morning, hours after Russia launched an invasion of the country
Ukrainian forces detain troops from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic on Thursday morning
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces later said his soldiers had captured the entire 74th Brigade with motorcycle rifles. The message was published with a photo of a man with a bandaged hand and a bloody uniform, which seems to say “Russian Army”
The body of a soldier without insignia, who the Ukrainian military claims is a Russian serviceman who died in battle, lies on the road outside the city of Kharkov, Ukraine
Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian forces said they had captured two Russian soldiers identified as Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19, and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, of Kizilyurt, along with a cache of weapons and knives during fighting near Kharkov in eastern Ukraine.
Four more Russian soldiers, the crew of a BMP combat vehicle, were captured by Ukrainian forces near Luhansk on Thursday morning.
They were depicted lying face down with jackets over their heads after being captured by Kyiv troops.
Ukrainian servicemen were also filmed on Thursday detaining soldiers from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic after being captured during an attack on the town of Happiness in the morning.
Estimates of deaths and injuries are almost non-existent in the early afternoon, but one Ukrainian official way the death toll in Russia is about 50.
Two Russian troops – believed to be Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 (left) and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt (right) – have been captured by Ukrainian forces in the country’s east
Weapons and knives seized from two Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian units fighting around Kharkiv
The crew of a Russian BMP war machine is seen face down with jackets on (left) after being captured by Ukrainian forces (their machine is pictured, right)
Russian claims
Russia said on Friday that more than 160 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered to Moscow’s troops.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the troops were from “different security structures”, but it was unclear what that meant and the statement did not provide details.
At least 11 of the soldiers reportedly laid down their arms during battles in a city in the south of the country known to Ukrainians as Nikolaev and Russians as Nikolaev.
Moscow said the soldiers would be “returned to their families” after “the situation stabilizes”.
Russia also claims that strikes by its military yesterday destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airports, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kyiv’s anti-aircraft batteries.
Later reports say Moscow shot down one of Ukraine’s helicopters, five fighter jets and five drones, and destroyed 18 tanks and other armored vehicles, seven flashlight jets, 41 special military equipment and five warships.
A Russian plane crashed near Voronezh on Thursday due to technical damage, which is considered technical. Everyone on board died – it is not clear how many