MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. Russian air defense systems shot down a Mi-8 helicopter, intercepted six HIMARS and Smerch MLRS shells, and also destroyed 12 drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the past day, official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov announced on Sunday.

"Air defense systems shot down a Mi-8 helicopter of the Ukrainian Air Force in around the settlement of Dimitrov in the Donetsk People's Republic. In addition, six HIMARS and Smerch multiple launch rockets were intercepted during the day, and 12 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed," he said.