Ukraine downs 13 out of 19 Russian drones
Russia launched 19 attack drones at Ukraine overnight and six missiles, with the Ukrainian air defence systems destroying 13 of the drones and one missile, Ukraine's air force said yesterday.
Some of the drones that were not destroyed did not reach their targets, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app, without providing further detail. It said that the 13 drones that were destroyed were downed chiefly over regions close to the frontline.
The air force also said that it destroyed a Kh-59 air-to-surface guided air missile in the Poltava region, reports Reuters.
Ukraine's army yesterday denied Russian claims that it had lost a key bridgehead on the Dnipro river frontline that has faced fierce attacks since Russia lost it.
Russia's defence minister said Tuesday that Moscow's forces had retaken the village of Krynky, seized by Ukrainian troops last year.
Russia has stepped up its offensive ahead of Saturday's second anniversary of its invasion, retaking the symbolic town of Avdiivka last week.
Ukrainian troops have held positions at Krynky since November despite heavy Russian artillery fire.
"We officially inform that this information is not true," the command of the Ukrainian army on the southern front said of the Russian claims over the village.
"The defence forces of southern Ukraine continue to hold their positions (in Krynky)," the command said on social media.
It claimed Russian forces launched an assault on Krynky but suffered "significant losses" and retreated. AFP was not able to verify the claims.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that Krynky had been "cleared" of Ukrainian forces.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said yesterday that "available open-source visual evidence" as well as reports from both sides "suggests that Ukrainian forces maintain their limited bridgehead in the area."
It added that it had "not observed any visual evidence of recent notable Russian advances" in and around Krynky.
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