Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register April 18 (Reuters) – Russia said Monday it had launched overnight mass raids on the Ukrainian army and related military targets, using its air force, missiles, artillery and air defense systems to hit hundreds of targets. all its southern neighbor. Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that rocket-propelled grenades destroyed 16 Ukrainian military installations overnight, including five command posts, a fuel depot and three ammunition depots, as well as Ukrainian armored vehicles. He said the strikes took place in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions and in the port of Mykolayiv, and that the Russian air force had fired at 108 areas, where he said Ukrainian forces were concentrated and armored. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of plotting “monstrous provocations” with massive civilian casualties in order to shed light on Russian forces. In particular, he said that Ukraine was planning to bomb Orthodox churches and cathedrals in various parts of Ukraine on the night of April 23, on the eve of Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated by most Ukrainians and Russians. She said she had evidence to support her allegations, but did not provide any. There was no immediate response to the allegations from Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Russian Defense Ministry also spoke of the destruction of 12 Ukrainian drones and tanks in other parts of Ukraine and the use of Iskander missiles to destroy four weapons and equipment depots in the Luhansk, Vinnytsia and Donetsk regions. Russia, which sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, has pledged to continue what it calls a “special military operation” to downgrade the Ukrainian army and eradicate what it calls dangerous nationalists until it achieves all its goals. Currently, it is focused on trying to take full control of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which has been under siege for weeks. The Defense Ministry said the Russian artillery had also hit 315 Ukrainian military targets overnight and that air defense systems had been used to shoot down two MiG-29 fighters and an SU-25 aircraft. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Reuters. Edited by: Raju Gopalakrishnan Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
