MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. Russian troops have eliminated 178 Ukrainian combat aircraft, 995 unmanned aerial vehicles, 3,243 tanks and armored vehicles and 425 multiple launch rocket systems since the beginning of their special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday.
"Overall, the following targets have been eliminated since the beginning of the special military operation: 178 aircraft, 125 helicopters, 995 unmanned aerial vehicles, 320 surface-to-air missile systems, 3,243 tanks and other combat armored vehicles, 425 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,658 field artillery guns and mortars and 3,124 special military motor vehicles," the spokesman said.
Russian combat aircraft shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 plane near Kramatorsk, eliminated a Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system and up to 210 nationalists in the past day, Konashenkov said.
"Russian fighter aircraft shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 plane in the area of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
In the past 24 hours, Russian operational-tactical and army aviation aircraft wiped out two Ukrainian command posts, three ammunition depots, 80 areas of amassed manpower and military hardware, and also a Buk-M1 surface-to-air missile system near Pilipchatino in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general said.
"The air strikes eliminated over 210 nationalists and destroyed 31 pieces of military equipment," the spokesman said.
Russian troops delivered strikes by air-launched precision missiles to destroy a battalion of Ukraine’s 14th mechanized brigade and a depot of shells for US howitzers, Konashenkov said.
"In the past 24 hours, air-launched precision missiles eliminated the following targets: three command posts, 36 areas of amassed Ukrainian manpower and military hardware, a self-propelled artillery battalion of the 14th mechanized brigade near the settlement of Soledar," the spokesman said.
The Russian forces also wiped out six ammunition depots near the communities of Minkovka, Bakhmut, Nikolayevka, Spornoye and Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general specified.
"In particular, they hit a large depot of 155mm shells for US-made M-777 howitzers in Razdolovka," the spokesman said.
Russian air defense forces shot down five Ukrainian drones in the Kherson and Kharkov Regions and intercepted four shells of the Smerch multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) in the Kharkov Region, Konashenkov said.
"Russian air defense systems shot down five unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of Chernobayevka in the Kherson Region, Dibrovnoye, Kamenka, Pitomnik and Maliye Prokhody in the Kharkov Region," the spokesman said.
The Russian air defense capabilities also intercepted four Ukrainian shells of the Smerch multiple launch rocket system over the communities of Topolskoye, Semyonovka and Sukhaya Kamenka in the Kharkov Region, the general said.
Russian missile and artillery troops eliminated about 700 Ukrainian military sites in the past 24 hours, Konashenkov said.
"The missile and artillery troops struck 84 command posts, 463 areas of amassed Ukrainian manpower and materiel, and also 137 artillery and mortar units at firing positions. They eliminated 13 tanks and combat armored vehicles, four Grad multiple launch rocket systems and three ammunition depots," the spokesman said.