MOSCOW, April 7 - RIA Novosti. The armed forces of the Russian Federation have destroyed more than 400 drones and up to 1,900 tanks and other armored vehicles since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, Major General Igor Konashenkov, the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, said on Thursday.
"Since the beginning of the special military operation, 125 aircraft, 93 helicopters, 413 unmanned aerial vehicles, 227 anti-aircraft missile systems, 1,987 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 218 multiple rocket launchers, 866 field artillery and mortars, as well as 1,894 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed," he said. Konashenkov.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal "the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years."
To do this, according to him, it is planned to carry out the "demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine", to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for "bloody crimes against civilians" of Donbass.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces are striking only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage – significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.