Kiev, February 24: The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have claimed to have shot down five Russian aircraft and a helicopter, media reports said on Thursday.
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However, the Russian military has denied the claims, the TASS news agency reported. "Message from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ... 5 planes and a helicopter of the aggressors were shot down in the area of the Armed Forces today," the Defence of Ukraine said in a tweet in Ukrainian.
Leaders from a number of counties, including the UK, US, Canada and European Union, have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences".
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukrainian cities are under strikes from Russia.
"Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now," Kuleba tweeted.
In another tweet, Kuleba said the world must act immediately.
"Future of Europe and the world is at stake. To-do list: Devastating sanctions on Russia NOW, including SWIFT. Fully isolate Russia by all means, in all formats. Weapons, equipment for Ukraine. Financial assistance. Humanitarian assistance," he said.
Russia has defended its actions in Ukraine, saying "the root of today's crisis around Ukraine is the actions of Ukraine itself."
Russian envoy to the UN Vasily Alekseevich Nebenzya said that the Russian operation is aimed to protect residents in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had destroyed four Russian tanks on a road near the eastern city of Kharkiv, killed 50 troops near a town in Luhansk region and downed a sixth Russian aircraft, also in the country’s east.
Russia has denied reports that its aircraft or armored vehicles have been destroyed.
Ukraine’s border guard service said that three of its servicemen had been killed in the southern Kherson region and that several more were wounded.
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"Shchastya is under control. 50 Russian occupiers were killed. Another Russian plane was destroyed in the Kramatorsk district. This is the sixth," the armed forces general staff said on Twitter.
-PTC News