Ukraine Marines Say 30 Russian Helicopters Destroyed in Kherson Airfield

The Ukrainian Marine Command says it destroyed a partial fleet of Russian helicopters parked at the Chornobayivka airfield near Kherson in the south.

In a Facebook post, the marine command said it “covered” the airfield with artillery fire on the night of March 6-7, destroying “at least 30 helicopters, manpower and equipment.”

Also, three “enemy” columns approaching the southern port of city of Mykolayiv were destroyed, the social media post said. A large quantity of “ammunition and seven units of D-20 howitzers were seized.”

Kherson is under Russian occupation and Myolayiv is withstanding daily Russian attacks as part of a fuller-scale invasion that Moscow launched on Feb. 24.

Mykolayiv was shelled overnight, resulting in damage to residential buildings, the State Emergency Service said. Russian occupation forces used Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers to shell the city, Interior Minister adviser Vadym Denysenko said.

Citing a senior U.S. defense official, Russia has so far fired 600 missiles and deployed 95 percent of its amassed troops to Ukraine, Ukrinform reported.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has imposed martial law and a general mobilization was announced.

Russia initially invaded Ukraine unprovoked in 2014 by forcibly seizing the Crimean Peninsula and invading the easternmost regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.