Ukrainian troops shoot down Su-25 near Marinka amid Russia's rising offensive

Another Russian aircraft was downed, said Ukrainian forces, adding that Russia's Su-25 Frogfoot was destroyed by Ukrainian paratroopers on Friday in Donetsk Oblast.

"On April 7, in Donetsk Oblast, an air defence unit of one of the military units of the Ukrainian Airborne Assault Forces shot down another Russian Su-25 Grach attack aircraft," announced the Command of Ukraine.

Ukraine claims downing of Russia's Su-25 aircraft

Footage of the explosion shows the debris of a Russian plane on the ground, but Russia has not confirmed the warplane's downing. Ukraine has accused Russian invaders of using ground- and air-fired missiles, rocket launchers, and weaponised drones against the war-torn country, causing casualties, building damage, and power outages. According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces launched "18 airstrikes, five missile strikes, and carried out 53 attacks from multiple rocket launchers between Thursday and Friday mornings." The Ukrainian military claimed that Russia carried out the recent attack to increase its offensive operations in Ukraine's industrial east.

Ukraine would start peace talks with Russia only after the liberation of its occupied territories: Oleksii Reznikov

Meanwhile, while speaking to the Cypriot state broadcaster CyBC, Ukraine's defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, ahead of talks with Cypriot Defence Minister Michalis Georgallas on Friday, said Ukraine would negotiate peace with Russia only after its occupied territory is liberated. Further speaking about the armament procurement, Reznikov said Ukraine is in need of anti-aircraft systems, artillery ammunition, infantry vehicles, tanks, and electronic warfare equipment, including drones and anti-drone technology.

Based on the daily analysis report by the British military, Kremlin troops have likely made territorial gains in the Bakhmut region, taking control of the western bank of the Bakhmut river. Significantly, Bakhmut is a region that comes under Ukraine's control, but Russian troops have been relentlessly attacking the region to take control of the city, resulting in the longest and potentially bloodiest battle of the war that Putin started on February 24, 2022.

Image: AP