Five Russian planes and a helicopter were shot down in Ukraine's Luhansk region, the country's military claimed today, Ukrainian media KyivPost says.
The country's defense ministry said: "The opposition is counting losses. Stay calm and believe in the Ukrainian defense," according to NBC News report. All flights in Ukraine are closed, it added.
Earlier today, Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east, according to Reuters report.
