Ukrainian forces said on Sunday that they had succeeded in shooting down 18 drones and missiles launched from Russia (Reuters)

Today, Sunday, Russia announced the destruction of 3 fighter jets and the downing of 178 Ukrainian drones, while France announced its intention to send old armored vehicles and new missiles to Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defense explained - in a statement - that it destroyed 3 Su-25 fighters belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces at Voznesensk Airport in the Nikolaev Province, according to what was reported by the Russian Sputnik news agency.

The statement added that "during the day, air defense systems shot down 178 Ukrainian drones, in addition to 23 missiles from multiple launch missile systems," noting that "two ammunition depots and an assembly and storage workshop for drones, manpower and military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed on 126 boycott".

The Russian Defense also confirmed that units of its forces in the direction of Avdiivka had improved the situation along the front line, and that its forces repelled 9 counterattacks in several areas, and that the Ukrainian forces “lost up to 300 soldiers, two armored combat vehicles and two cars, in addition to a reconnaissance station.” And electronic warfare,” according to the statement.

Earlier - Sunday morning - Kiev announced that Moscow launched 16 missiles and 11 drones at Ukraine in an air attack during the night.

In a statement on the Telegram application, the Ukrainian Air Force said that it succeeded in shooting down 9 drones and 9 missiles, without specifying the targets of those missiles and drones that it shot down or that did not.

Over the course of more than a week, Russia intensified its air campaign against Ukrainian energy facilities, which caused severe damage and raised Ukrainians’ fears of a return to the power outages that the country had previously witnessed in the first post-war winter, as part of exchanged strikes following attacks from Ukrainian marches. On Russian oil refinery facilities.

French support

On the other hand, French Defense Minister Sebastien Le Cornu said today that his country will deliver hundreds of old armored vehicles and new surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine for use in its war with Russia.

In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche newspaper, Le Cornu said that President Emmanuel Macron asked him to prepare a new aid package, which would include old French equipment “but it is still working,” noting that the request came after talks between Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The French Defense Minister said that Ukraine urgently needs better air-to-ground defense (Reuters)

The French minister added, "The Ukrainian army needs to defend a very long front line, which requires armored vehicles, and this is crucial for the mobility of forces, which is part of the Ukrainian requests."

Le Cornu confirmed that France is looking forward to supplying Ukraine with hundreds of armored vehicles used to transport soldiers on the front in 2024 and early 2025, pointing out that Paris is also preparing to launch a new group of “Aster 30” surface-to-air missiles for Kiev.

The Aster 30 missiles can intercept warplanes, drones, and cruise missiles at a range of up to 120 kilometers.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies