Russia fires cruise missiles at Ukraine military infrastructure

MOSCOW, Russia — The Russian army has targeted Ukraine’s military infrastructure with cruise missiles from the air and sea, the defense ministry says, as Moscow pressed on with the invasion of the pro-Western country.

“During the night, the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched a strike with long-range precision weapons using air- and sea-launched cruise missiles against the military infrastructure of Ukraine,” defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov says in televised remarks.

He said that the Russian army only targeted military infrastructure without damaging “residential and social infrastructure.”

That claim came despite evidence on the ground of residential buildings being hit.

A Russian missile has targeted a residential house in Kyiv this night pic.twitter.com/xEU4VtOS32

— Illia Ponomarenko ???????? (@IAPonomarenko) February 26, 2022

Speaking on day three of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Konashenkov also says that the Russian troops had taken “full control” of the southeastern city of Melitopol.

“The Russian servicemen are taking all measures to ensure the safety of civilians and exclude provocations from the Ukrainian special services and nationalists,” the spokesman says.

He says that since the start of Russia’s attack Thursday, the military has hit 821 Ukrainian military facilities, including 14 airbases and 19 command facilities, and destroyed 24 air defense missile systems, 48 radars, seven warplanes, seven helicopters, nine drones, 87 tanks and eight military vessels.

The Russian navy has destroyed eight military boats, Konashenkov said.

Konashenkov didn’t say how many Ukrainian troops were killed and didn’t mention any casualties on the Russian side. His claims and Ukraine’s allegations that its forces have killed thousands of Russian troops couldn’t be independently verified.

He gave no details of any Russian losses in the fighting in the face of statements from Kyiv that they have inflicted heavy damages on Moscow’s forces.

On Thursday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that has killed dozens of people, forced more than 50,000 to flee Ukraine in just 48 hours and sparked fears of a greater conflict in Europe.