Russia MoD unveils tally of 72nd day of war in Ukraine

• 

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Igor Konashenkov announced Friday that the Russian air defense systems have shot down a Ukrainian Su-27 plane, and have also intercepted 2 Smerch rocket shells near Izyum.

"Russian air defense capabilities shot down a Su-27 plane of the Ukrainian Air Force near the settlement of Platonovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the Spokesperson said.

Russian defense has also destroyed 7 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the skies of Liptsy, Kharkov, in addition to Sladkoye and Zemlyanka in Donetsk, Tretyakovka, and Varvarovka in Lugansk, and near Snake Island, according to Konashenkov.

"Also, two projectiles of the Smerch multiple launch rocket system were intercepted near the city of Izyum," the General said.

Furthermore, the Russian forces have destroyed 152 Ukrainian combat craft, 112 helicopters, 749 unmanned aerial vehicles, 291 surface-to-air missile systems, 2,867 tanks and other cobat armored vehicles, 331 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,345 field artillery guns and mortars, and 2,698 special military motor vehicles.

The Su-27 is a fourth-generation multirole supersonic all-weather frontline fighter; the Ukrainian army operates 4 modules of the Su-27 jet, including Su-27UB and Su-27P1M, which have new GPS navigation features and enhanced performance.

Read more: Russia MoD unveils tally of 71st day of war in Ukraine

50 civilians evacuated from Mariupol Azovstal plant

According to the Russian defense, 50 civilians were evacuated from Mariupol's Azovstal plant on Friday, the Russian interdepartment center for humanitarian response said. 

Russia has permitted an operation to evacuate civilians which were held by the neo-Nazi fascist nationalist units. 

"Fifty civilians were rescued, including 11 children. All rescued civilians were handed over to representatives of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross for transfer to selected temporary accommodation sites. The humanitarian operation at Azovstal will continue on May 7," the center said in a statement.

Yesterday, the Russian military has declared a fresh unilateral pause in its operation at the Azovstal steelworks complex in Mariupol, offering to provide humanitarian corridors for people who are believed to have been trapped within the site for three days. The steel factory is the city's final stronghold controlled by the Ukrainian military and members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion.

The humanitarian corridor will be available for three days, from Thursday to Saturday, from 8 am to 6 pm Moscow time. Civilians evacuated from the facility will be able to move wherever they choose, including territory controlled by Ukraine or Russia. Several hundred residents were evacuated from Azovstal bunkers on Sunday as part of a humanitarian mission coordinated by the United Nations and the International Red Cross.

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained that “there is no assault. We see that flare-ups occur when militants get out to assume gun emplacements. These attempts are being suppressed quite promptly."