Ukraine armed forces chief General Valery Zaluzhniy on Monday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans for 'blitzkrieg', change of power and the foreign policy course of Ukraine “are destroyed.” Praising the Ukrainian air defense specialists for putting up a tough resistance against the fierce Russian air assaults, Zaluzhniy in a Facebook post on the official Defense of Ukraine page wrote that the armed forces of Ukraine “showed the whole world how to fight for freedom and native land.” He then continued, that the “enemy is demoralized and exhausted,” referring to the Russian troops. 

Footages aired by the Republic Media Network have depicted Russian Su- 30SM multirole fighter jets shot down near Volnovakha in eastern Ukraine. In another footage, a Russian pilot tries to eject before hitting the ground. Russian forces have lost 269 tanks, 945 armoured combat vehicles, 105 artillery systems, 50 MLRS, 19 air defense, 39 aircraft, 40 helicopters, according to UNIAN.

Russian forces opting for complex operational, strategic war tactics

Ukraine’s chief General Zaluzhniy on Monday said that the invading Russian forces have opted for complex operational and strategic war tactics in the southern cities of Kyiv, and “do not leave an attempt to surround the capital.” “Standing defense of our cities - Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaev, Sum, Mariupol, - and national resistance do not allow the opponent to develop success. No matter how many kilometres the enemy moves deep into our territory, he will not be able to hold it,” Ukraine armed forces chief General Valery Zaluzhniy said on Monday. 

Zaluzhniy urged the Ukrainian civilians to join the resistance force with weapons, ammunition and motivation to protect their country, adding that the Air Force had caused significant losses to the enemy's airstrike group. Ukrainian air defense has allegedly shot down two Russian fighter jets at different locations, captured the pilot identified as Krasnoyartsev on the outskirts of Chernihiv. They killed the co-pilot identified as Major Krivolapov. Ukraine forces shot down another Russian aircraft in Nikolaev. 

Russian forces meanwhile continued their offensive on the city of Mykolayiv, south of Kyiv, according to the footage aired by Republic Media Network. Heavy shelling was also reported in the suburbs of Irpin and Bucha where at least three civilians were killed. While Moscow had agreed to declare the humanitarian corridors and a ceasefire for the civilians to flee the war atrocities, Ukraine accused its enemy of manipulation as Ukrainians from the conflict zones were allowed to evacuate only into Russia or Belarus. Since the military intervention began in Ukraine, Russian forces have lost more than 10,000 people, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed. 

Image: AP