Russia says it destroyed Ukrainian air defense systems gifted by unidentified European country
Slovakia gave an S-300 system to Ukraine last week but says theirs wasn’t hit
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Russia’s military on Monday is claiming to have destroyed air defense systems that were "delivered to the Kyiv regime by a European country."
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said in a statement that the four S-300 launchers were hidden in a hanger near the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro and that 25 Ukrainian soldiers were also hit in the strike, according to Reuters.
"High-precision sea-launched Kalibr missiles destroyed the equipment of a S-300 anti-aircraft missile division which had been delivered to the Kyiv regime by a European country," the ministry reportedly added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}S-300PS missile systems are pictured during the Kyiv Independence Day Parade in Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, in 2021. (Volodymyr Tarasov/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
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Russia didn’t elaborate on which country allegedly supplied the air defense systems to Ukraine.
But NATO member Slovakia, which announced Friday that it gave an S-300 system to Ukraine, said theirs has not been hit, Reuters reports.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Slovakia Prime Minister Eduard Heger revealed last week that his country was sending a Soviet-era S-300 air defense system to Ukraine to "help save many innocent lives from the aggression of the Putin regime."
Cars drive near a damaged bridge following a Russian attack in the previous weeks in the town of Makarov in the Kyiv region on Sunday. (AP/Petros Giannakouris)
"I can confirm that the Slovak Republic has donated to Ukraine an air defense system, the S-300. I believe that this defense system will help save many innocent lives from the aggression of the Putin regime," Heger said Friday.
The transfer of the military hardware is the first known instance of a country giving such weaponry to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, according to Reuters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A fallen rocket that was fired from Kherson but got intercepted by Ukrainian forces remains unexploded in the street in Mykolaiv, Ukraine on April 4. (Andre Luis Alves/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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President Joe Biden said Friday that "I want to thank the Slovakian government for providing an S-300 air defense system to Ukraine, something President Zelenskyy has personally raised with me in our conversations. To enable this transfer and ensure the continued security of Slovakia, the United States will reposition a U.S. Patriot missile system to Slovakia."
In the statement released by Russia on Monday, it also said its military downed two Ukrainian aircraft near Izium and destroyed two ammunition depots, one of which was near the city of Mykolaiv, according to Reuters.