471 Ukrainian soldiers captured, nearly 1,000 targets hit

Russia says its troops have captured 471 Ukrainian soldiers during the fight in Ukraine.

Since Thursday morning, 975 military targets have been destroyed, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Eight fighter planes and seven helicopters as well as 11 combat drones had been shot down. Another 28 aircraft were destroyed on the ground, along with 223 tanks and other combat vehicles.

Konashenkov did not give any information on the number of soldiers killed in the Russian ranks.

In the eastern Donbass region, Russian-backed separatists had now advanced a further 12 kilometres, he said. They had captured two settlements north-east of the embattled port city of Mariupol. The information cannot be independently verified.

Near the eastern city of Kharkiv, Konashenkov said that a regiment of Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered. As soon as bureaucratic formalities were completed, they would be able to return to their families, he said.

GNA