Ukraine downs Russian Su-34, cruise missile, destroys 20 combat armored vehicles

Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s Air Force destroyed 20 units of Russian armored vehicles, as well as shot down a cruise missile and a Su-34 fighter-bomber.

This was announced on Facebook by the Ukrainian Air Force Command, Ukrinform reports.

"On May 18, Air Force strike aircraft under cover of fighter jets hit the area where enemy equipment had been amassed. According to tentative data, about 20 armored vehicles and ammunition stocks were destroyed and Russian manpower at the site was eliminated," the statement said.

Anti-aircraft missile units in Dnipropetrovsk region also downed a cruise missile, and in Kharkiv region – a Su-34 fighter-bomber. Radio intercepts show that the engine of the Russian warplane caught fire and the crew ejected.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, from February 24 to May 18, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 28,300 Russian servicemen, including over 400 in the past day alone. Also, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 1,251 (+16) tanks, 3,043 (+34) armored combat vehicles, 586 (+8) artillery systems, 199 (+1) MLR systems, 91 (+1) air defense systems, 202 (+1) warplanes, 167 (+0) helicopters, 441 (+5) operational and tactical level UAVs, 102 (+5) cruise missiles, 13 (+0) warships/cutters, 2,137 (+28)  trucks, including fuel tankers, and 43 (+0) units of special equipment.

Over the past day, the enemy suffered most significant losses in the Sloviansk, Kryvyi Rih, and Zaporizhia directions.

Photo: MoD Ukraine