MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. On Sunday night, Ukraine shelled residential areas of Belgorod and Kursk using Tochka-U missiles with cluster munitions and Tu-143 Reys drones, official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.
"Tonight, from 03:00 to 03:30 Moscow time, the Kiev regime carried out a deliberate strike using Tochka-U ballistic missiles with cluster munitions and Tu-143 Reys drones on residential areas of Belgorod and Kursk, where there are no military facilities," Konashenkov said.
According to him, the strike was purposefully planned and carried out by the Ukrainian side against the Russian civilian population.
According to Konashenkov, Russian air defense systems destroyed all missiles fired at the city in the air over Belgorod, as well as two Tu-143 Reis unmanned aerial vehicles stuffed with explosives that flew up to Kursk.
Su-25s
Russian air defense systems shot down two Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft in the Kharkov and Nikolaev regions in a day, Konashenkov said
"Russian air defense systems shot down two Su-25s of the Ukrainian Air Force in the areas of the settlements of Dibrovnoe in the Kharkov region and Kvitnevo in the Nikolaev region," he said.
In addition, aviation, missile troops, and artillery during the special operation in Ukraine hit 320 targets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the day.
Three artillery and five mortar platoons in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) were hit by high-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces, official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"The Russian Aerospace Forces hit three artillery and five mortar platoons in the areas of the settlements of Verkhnekamenskoe of the Donetsk People's Republic, Belogorovka, Maloryazantsevo, Zolotarevka of the Lugansk People's Republic," he said.
Russian troops and units of the Lugansk People's Republic are fighting inside Lisichansk, Lieutenant-General said.
"Russian troops and units of the Lugansk People's Republic are fighting inside Lisichansk, completing the defeat of the encircled enemy. Yesterday, the settlements of Novodruzhesk, Maloryazantsevo, and Belaya Gora were liberated in the vicinity of Lisichansk," he said.
Russian air defense systems intercepted eight multiple rocket launcher systems’ (MLRS) shells, including four rockets from the US HIMARS multiple launch rocket system in the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), Konashenkov said.
"Eight MLRS shells were intercepted, including four rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system in the Stakhanov region of the Lugansk People's Republic and four Uragan rockets in the areas of the settlements of Popasnaya in the Lugansk People's Republic, Kamenka in the Kharkov region, and the city of Donetsk," he said.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, since the beginning of the special military operation, the following have been destroyed: 229 aircraft, 134 helicopters, 1,440 unmanned aerial vehicles, 353 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,893 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 704 combat vehicles of multiple launch rocket systems, 3,078 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 3,979 special military vehicles.