Russia says it downs four Ukrainian military aircraft

Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday its air defence systems had shot down four Ukrainian military aircraft over the past 24 hours, just two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv had downed three Russian fighter-bomber jets.

In its daily dispatch, the defence ministry said its air defence shot down three Su-27 fighter aircraft and one Su-24 tactical bomber in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions of southeastern Ukraine.

The dispatch provided no further details.

On Friday, Zelenskiy said the country’s forces shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft on the southern front, hailing it as a success in the 22-month-old conflict.

The commander of Ukraine’s air force also said the planes had been downed.

Reuters was not immediately able to corroborate the battlefield reports from either side.