MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Russian forces shot down almost 190 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles and intercepted 226 US-made HIMARS rockets over the past month in their special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at the ministry’s conference call on Friday.

"Over the past month, 174 brigade-and battalion-level command posts were hit and 601 heavy armaments and artillery systems mostly of Western manufacture were destroyed. A total of 19 aircraft, 6 helicopters and 188 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down and 226 HIMARS rockets were intercepted," the defense chief said.

The inflow of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine has been falling amid the Ukrainian military’s heavy losses. Their number has dwindled by more than three and a half times since the start of the special military operation. In addition, over this period, the Russian troops have eliminated about 3,000 foreign militants fighting for the Kiev regime, Shoigu said.

"We will continue liberating Donbass and creating conditions that guarantee the security of the Russian Federation," the defense chief said.