Ukraine claims to have shot down 6 Russian jets

Ukraine claims to have shot down 6 Russian jets today. In a social media post, the Ukrainian government made this claim.

A week ago Russia announced that it had withdrawn some of its troops from the Ukraine border. But all hopes for peace were shattered around 05:30 am local time today when Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian bombers are bombing all major airports in Ukraine. Missile, rocket, and artillery strikes from Russian territory are underway.

While the overall situation is extremely fluid, both sides are making tall claims. Ukraine has not shared any evidence that its air defense systems have shot down 6 Russian jets. Ukrainian officials just say that the last of the 6 was downed near Kramatorsk town. Kramatorsk is situated very close to Luhansk in Donbas.

Russia has rejected Ukrainian claims. In a statement, the Russian ministry of defense said that Russian forces had destroyed the Ukrainian airforce’s infrastructure and no Russian plane had been shot down.

Ukraine further claims that its forces have retaken Schastia settlement. Luhansk separatists backed by Russian forces launched an offensive on Schastia today after Russia started bombardment in the morning.

Independent verification of Russian and Ukrainian claims is extremely difficult at this point in time. But in the coming hours, it is expected that things would be clear.

Russian ground invasion is expected to follow its ongoing air, artillery, and missile strikes. Ukraine has officially confirmed that Russian troops are attempting to breach Ukrainian borders in Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions.

Russian President Putin confirmed military operation in Ukraine in a public speech early in early morning today. He said that the objective of the operation was to disarm the Ukrainian military and to remove nazi elements in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has imposed martial law. In a public address, he said Ukraine will fight.