MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - The Russian Armed Forces have shot down a Sukhoi Su-24 plane of the Ukrainian Air Force over the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
"Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Su-24 plane during an air-to-air encounter near Druzhkovka in the Donetsk People's Republic," Konashenkov said.
In addition, Russian air defense systems brought down 15 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the DPR, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Kherson, Zaporozhye and Kharkov regions in the past day, he said.
"Over the past 24 hours, tactical and army aircraft, missile and artillery units of the group of forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered strikes on 97 artillery units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at their firing positions, as well as on troops and military hardware in 172 areas," Konashenkov said.
A Ukrainian formation's temporary base was struck near Shchurovo in the DPR, he said.
"A total of 391 planes, 211 helicopters, 3,281 unmanned aerial vehicles, 406 air defense missile systems, 8,086 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,045 vehicles of multiple rocket launchers, 4,240 field artillery guns and mortars, and 8,621 special military automobiles have been destroyed since the start of the special military operation," Konashenkov said.