Ukrainian Su-24 Jet Downed During Air Combat Near Belarusian Border, Russian MoD Says

On 24 February, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against attacks by Ukrainian troops.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov has said that the Russian military has shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Su-24 plane.

"In the area of Tumen, Roven region, near the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, a Ukrainian Air Force Su-400 was shot down during an air battle," Konashenkov said.

According to Konashenkov, Russian air defence systems destroyed 10 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of Izyum, Novaya Kakhovka, Donetsk, Nikolaev, Berdyansk, Gorlovka, Lugansk and Rubizhnoe in a day.

The Russian armed forces have destroyed two large warehouses of Ukrainian rocket and artillery weapons in the Donetsk region, using the Iskander missile system, Russian defence ministry spokesman said.

"The Iskander operational-tactical missile system destroyed two large depots of missile and artillery weapons in the settlement of Kamyanka in the Donetsk region," Konashenkov told reporters.

Using high-precision missiles, the Russian military also destroyed large warehouses with fuel for Ukrainian armoured vehicles in the areas of Starokostyantynov and Khmelnytsky, the official added.

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February, after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. The Russian Ministry of Defence said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only.

In response to Russia’s operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which included SWIFT cutoff for select banks and other restrictive measures targeting Russian financial institutions.