During a special operation to protect Donbass, four Ukrainian Bayraktar drones and a combat helicopter were shot down. This was announced by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, on Thursday, February 24.
“A combat helicopter and four Bayraktar TB-2 attack unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down,” Konashenkov was quoted as saying. RT.
Earlier in the day, a spokesman for the military department said that the Russian armed forces disabled 74 ground facilities of Ukraine’s military infrastructure during a special operation to protect Donbass. NSN.
It also became known that Ukrainian border guards are leaving their units, refusing to participate in hostilities. According to the FSB of the Russian Federation, 26 servicemen of the state border service of Ukraine have already arrived at the Troebortnoe checkpoint on the territory of the Russian Federation, the TV channel reports.360“. Another 16 went to the Crimean checkpoint Dzhankoy.
On the morning of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his special televised address, announced that a special operation would be carried out in the Donbass in order to protect the civilian population.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the operation was an attempt to prevent a global war. She stressed that a bloody war with civilian casualties had been waged in Donbass for eight years. Zakharova also stated that the war was fought on various fronts, including sanctions and information.
After the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev was breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and expelling its diplomats from the embassy.
On February 21, the Russian leader signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR). Also, the President of the Russian Federation and the heads of both republics Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17. The DPR and LPR reported heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Kiev authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
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