Russian MoD: Armed forces hit Ukrainian military infrastructure hard
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Russian troops have blocked the southern Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Berdyansk, the country's Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
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Russian military blocks Kherson and Berdyansk.
Over the past day, the Russian armed troops have blocked Kherson and Berdyansk, as well as Henichesk and the Chernobaevka airbase near Kherson, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
"Over the past 24 hours, the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk have been completely blocked by the Russian armed forces," Defense Ministry Spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
The Spokesman further stated that over the previous 24 hours, Lugansk People's Republic forces carried out successful offensive operations and took control of the communities of Novookhtyrka, Smolyaninovo, and Stanychno-Luhanskoye, with fire assistance from the Russian military.
Since the beginning of the military campaign in Ukraine, the Russian armed forces have advanced 52 kilometers (32 miles) into defense, according to Konashenkov.
Precautions to protect civilians taken
Only military installations are targeted, according to the statement, and no harm is done to residential or social infrastructure. The Russian military, according to Konashenkov, is taking all precautions to safeguard the safety of civilians.
"To date, the Russian armed forces have struck 975 military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine," Konashenkov said.
According to the spokesman, among them are 23 command posts and communication centers of the Ukrainian armed forces, three radar posts, 31 S-300, Buk M-1, and Osa anti-aircraft missile systems, and 48 ​​radar stations.
"Eight combat aircraft and seven helicopters, 11 unmanned aerial vehicles, two Tochka-U tactical missiles were shot down", Konashenkov said.
He also noted that 223 tanks and other combat armored vehicles, 28 aircraft, 39 multiple rocket launchers, 86 field artillery guns and mortars, 143 units of special military vehicles had been destroyed.
In addition, Konashenkov stressed that the 302nd anti-aircraft missile regiment of the Ukrainian armed forces, which was equipped with Buk M-1 air defense systems, had voluntarily laid down its weapons and surrendered in the Kharkiv region on Saturday.
Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine on Thursday, in response to requests from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for assistance in combating Ukrainian troops' aggression.
The special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military facilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, and the civilian population is not at risk. Moscow has stated that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
