Disabling Ukrainian Air Defenses: Russia Claims Control Of The City Of Izyum, Destroys Weapons Depots To Armored Vehicles

Spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense Major General Igor Konashenkov. (Source: Press Office of the Russian Ministry of Defense/Vadim Grishanin)

JAKARTA - The Russian military has succeeded in capturing the city of Izyum in the Kharkov region of Ukraine, Chief Spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense Major General Igor Konashenkov.

"The armed forces of the Russian Federation continue to carry out special military operations tasks. By the morning of March 24, units of the Russian army had completely taken control of the city of Izyum in the Kharkov region," he said, TASS reported, March 24.

He added that Russia's high-precision weapons had destroyed 13 missile launchers and the nationalist battalion's temporary base in the city of Lysychansk.

According to Konashenkov, the Russian Armed Forces carried out attacks involving long-range high-precision weapons on the night of March 23 and the early hours of March 24.

"The strike destroyed 13 missile launchers, including nine S-300 systems and four Buk-M1 systems in the Danilovka settlement south of Kyiv, the formation headquarters and missile and artillery weapons depot in the Bakhmut settlement in the Donetsk region and the temporary base of the nationalist battalion in the city of Lysychansk," he explained.

Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry said the Russian military destroyed the Ukrainian S-300 air defense system with Krasnopol smart artillery.

"An unmanned aerial vehicle identified the position of the Ukrainian air defense system, which was attacked with a Krasnopol smart artillery shell. The shell was targeted by a laser-equipped drone," the Defense Ministry said.

Earlier, the ministry released images confirming the destruction of Ukrainian air defense systems, as well as videos of the Ukrainian army's field command center in the Kyiv region being hit by guided Krasnopol shells.

As for the weapons depots and military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they were taken down by Su-34 fighter-bombers of the Russian Air Force, the Ministry of Defense said.

"The crew of the Su-34 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces have disabled military facilities and military equipment of the Ukrainian army. Military parking areas, armored vehicles, weapons depots have been destroyed with the use of high-precision weapons," the ministry said, adding the fighter-bombers returned to their bases after the attack.