Russia says it hit 64 more military objects in Ukraine

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that 64 military objects were destroyed in Ukraine over the past day.

Speaking at a daily press briefing in Moscow, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that among the hit objects were four control centers, three air defense systems -- one S-300 and two Buk-M1 -- three installations of multiple rocket launchers, two artillery batteries, two large fuel depots, and 49 areas of concentration of Ukrainian military equipment.

Also, two large ammunition depots were hit with missiles, fired from a mobile short-range ballistic missile system Iskander, Konashenkov added.

Ukraine's one Su-24 fighter jet was downed in an air battle on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, while Russia's air defense systems downed 10 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, he said.

"In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 124 aircraft and 77 helicopters, 214 anti-aircraft missile systems, 321 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,752 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 184 multiple rocket launchers, 734 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 1,640 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed," he noted.

Konashenkov said a member of the Jewish community in Ukraine's central Uman city provided the Russian military with evidence showing the Ukrainian military turning the city's synagogue into a stronghold, delivering arms and ammunition, and then disguising them as garbage bags.

"For the transportation of nationalists and foreign mercenaries from the western regions of Ukraine, as can be clearly seen in the photos, they use buses having the coloring of school vehicles with the corresponding signs 'Children'," Konashenkov also said.

He noted that Ukraine's army often uses vehicles with UN and OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) symbols, while there were cases when the arms were delivered in the trucks of the DHL transport company.

The spokesman warned that Kyiv plans to draw the fire on a synagogue to provoke political pressure of Jewish religious organizations on Russia.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has met international outrage with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,179 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,860 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, with millions more displaced inside the country, according to the UN refugee agency.