Ukraine downs Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east

Ukrainian forces have said they shot down a Russian fighter plane on Saturday while Russia claimed it made gains in Ukraine’s east.

The Russian bomber was shot down near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk province, head of the Kostiantynivka Military Administration Serhiy Horbunov was quoted as saying by Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne.

Photos showed charred remains of an aircraft after it landed on a house that caught fire.

Also in the partially occupied Donetsk province, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed on Saturday that it had taken control of the village of Zhelanne Druhe.

If confirmed, the capture would come three days after Ukrainian forces said they were withdrawing from the frontline town of Vuhledar, some 21 miles from Zhelanne Druhe, following a hard-fought two-year defence.

Although unlikely to change the course of the war, the loss of Vuhledar is indicative of Kyiv’s worsening position, in part the result of Washington’s refusal to grant Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russian territory and preventing Kyiv from degrading Moscow’s capabilities.

Meanwhile, two people died in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.

Ukraine’s air force said that Russia had launched three guided missiles and 13 attack drones at Ukraine overnight into Saturday. It said the missiles were intercepted, three drones were shot down over the Odesa region and 10 others were lost.

Nine people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger bus in the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, the city’s Russian-installed mayor Ivan Prikhodko said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday that air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian drones overnight in three border regions, including seven over the Belgorod region, two over the Kursk region, and one over the Voronezh region.