Russia MoD unveils tally of 17th day of spec op in Ukraine

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Russian combat drones and warplanes targeted 79 assets belonging to the military infrastructure of Ukraine on Saturday alone, a spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that this tally included an electronic warfare target, 4 command and communication units, 3 multiple rocket launchers, 2 surface-to-air missile systems, 6 ammunition, fuel, and lubricant depots, and 54 clusters of armored vehicles.

Russian air defense systems downed a Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter and 3 drones, including a Turkish Bayraktar combat drone.

As per Konashenkov's assessment, 3,593 enemy assets had been destroyed since the beginning of the Russian special military operation began in Ukraine, including "123 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,127 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 115 multiple rocket launchers, 423 field artillery guns and mortars, 934 units of special military vehicles."

The Spokesperson also noted that the Russian aviation targeted 145 objects of the Ukrainian armed forces, including three Buk M-1 anti-aircraft missile systems, eight command posts and communication centers, and 78 accumulation points of military equipment.

DPR forces evacuate 135 people

The armed forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) evacuated 135 people, including 25 children, from the combat zones in the directions of Mariupol and Volnovakha over the past 24 hours, DPR forces said on Saturday.

"Risking their own lives, our defenders evacuated 135 people, including 25 children, from the combat zone in the directions of Mariupol and Volnovakha," the people's militia wrote on its Telegram channel.

On Friday, Konashenkov said that the DPR troops had seized the city of Volnovakha, and earlier today, Konashenkov said that the Russian armed forces advanced 21 kilometers into Ukraine during the past 24 hours.