Ukraine military unit destroyed, Russia reports

Russia said its military has destroyed a large unit in Ukraine. 

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Thursday that the nation’s warplanes hit the eastern region’s railway station in Pokrovsk when an assault brigade that would reinforce Ukraine’s troops in the region was unloading there. 

He also claimed that Russian forces destroyed Ukraine’s electronic intelligence center in Dniprovske, although that could not be independently confirmed.

Konashenkov said the Russian air force has hit 28 soldiers and weapons concentrations and two ammunition depots over the past 24 hours.

UKRAINIAN DEFENSE SAYS RUSSIA HAS USED 60% OF ITS HIGH-PRECISION ARTILLERY

Rodion Miroshnik, a representative of the separatist Luhansk region in Russia, also said that approximately 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers are in captivity in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. That also could not be independently verified.

The Kremlin said Thursday that it expects Ukraine to accept Moscow’s demands and “the understanding of the real situation that exists de-facto.”

AS UKRAINE WAR DRAGS ON, RUSSIA REMOVES MILITARY AGE LIMITS

Alternatively, in an intelligence update, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense says Russia’s airborne military has been involved in several notable tactical failures since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. 

“The VDV has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign. Its mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority,” it said. 

Thus far, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded 8,628 civilian casualties in Ukraine. 

That number includes 3,974 deaths and 4,654 injuries, however, OHCHR said it believes the actual figures are “considerably higher.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.