@ASLuhn/Twitter
February 26, 2022, 1:55 pm
American officials claim that a second Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane was shot down on Friday by the Ukrainian military. A statement from the military’s General Staff said that the first Il-76 heavy transport plane was shot down near Vasylkiv, a city about 25 miles south of Kyiv, according to the Associated Press. The second was taken down near Bila Tserkva, 50 miles south of Kyiv.
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The number of casualties are not known but they can carry over 100 paratroopers or 50 tons of cargo.
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Ukraine has sprung to defend itself against Russian invasion, after president Vladimir Putin ordered attacks on Kyiv and other military targets. Putin’s army has been met with fierce resistance. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remained in Kyiv, despite being a known target of Russian forces.
He has sent numerous messages from the streets to his citizens, in one saying, “We are defending our country, our land,’ he said, demonstrating Kyiv was still under Ukraine’s control. The occupiers wanted to capture our capital and install their puppets like Donetsk. We broke their idea.”
He added, “I want everyone in Russia to hear me. Everybody. Hundreds of captured soldiers who are here in Ukraine don’t know why they were sent here to kill people or be killed. People need to tell the government why the war has to be stopped, more people from your country will stay alive.”
Civilian buildings including hospitals have been hit in the city, and Kyiv residents have been hiding in subway stations for shelter. The civilian death toll is at 198, which includes three children, according to Ukraine’s health minister, Viktor Lyashko.
“Unfortunately, according to operative data, at the hands of the invaders we have 198 dead, including 3 children, 1,115 wounded, including 33 children,” Lyashko wrote on Facebook.
Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov gave an account of the damage from Russian missiles, saying that since Thursday, there had been hits at 821 Ukrainian military facilities.
“Recently, fake info was spread about me ordering our army to lay down arms and evacuate,” Zelenskyy said in another video. “It’s untrue. I’m here, we are not laying down, we will protect our state. This is our land, our country, our kids, and we will defend them.”
*First Published: February 26, 2022, 1:55 pm
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