The Ukrainian troops claimed responsibility for the shooting down of some five Russian helicopters, the destruction of dozens of war tanks as well as the capture of several troops, while their rivals rejected the information.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine indicated that the actions of its troops were recorded in the first hours of the invasion ordered by President Vladimir Putin in the country.
According to information from the Ukrainian authorities , four Russian KA-72 Alligator aircraft succumbed to Ukrainian forces during a battle at Gostomel airbase. While a fifth helicopter reportedly had to make an emergency landing on the runway due to fire.
The military also claims to have destroyed dozens of Russian war tanks along the eastern and northern border.
“In the Glukhov area, the military used Javelin anti-aircraft missiles and neutralized a column of Russian equipment,” reads a post by the armed forces on the Twitter account @ArmedForcesUkr
that includes a photo of T-tanks 72 Russians on fire.
In or Another post on the same account shows a Russian Kamov Ka-52 helicopter with one wing hanging down. In the video no soldier can be seen inside.
“Russian helicopter destroyed!” indicates a message that accompanies the video.
These aerial vehicles were part of a squadron of 20 that flew over the skies of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, shortly after midnight this Thursday in an attempt to seize the airspace.
Ukrainian elements also claimed responsibility for shooting down six aircraft flying over Donbass, one of the two pro-Russian separatist regions in Ukraine.
Kiev’s military machine is inferior to Russia’s as it has an air defense system dating back to the Soviet era.
Some users have opined that the Ukrainian Government uses the images as propaganda.
Although the United States and other NATO countries deployed soldiers in the Romanian area a few months ago, the authorities in these demarcations have indicated that they will not send troops to Ukraine, and that they will let the country face the attack with its own resources.
However, the US Pentagon announced that it will send eight F-24 fighter-bombers to “several locations ” from NATO’s eastern flank.
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