More than 400 Russian combat aircraft and 360 helicopters, including more than 150 strike aircraft, are deployed around Ukraine's borders, Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said this at a briefing, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
At the same time, he said that on 24 February, Russia carried out 200 sorties and eight strikes on Ukraine.
"Yesterday, despite the fact that there were so many alarms, no large-scale missile activity was recorded. But a lot of aviation activity was recorded. More than 200 sorties were recorded on 24 August. The enemy predominantly used long-range Tu-22M bombers to attack Ukraine," Ihnat said.
He also drew attention to the fact that Russia carried out a large number of simulated sorties yesterday, which explains a large number of air-raid alerts in Ukraine on 24 August.
"These are sorties by a group of aircraft from certain areas. Predominantly this is the Shaykovka airfield for Tu-22M3s, as well as the area north of the Caspian Sea for Tu-95MS aircraft. These planes would take off, do certain manoeuvres in the air and simulate a possible missile strike," he said.
On 24 August, Russia shelled 58 settlements in Ukraine. It also launched a missile attack on the Chaplyne railway station in Dnipropetrovsk Region, which killed 25 people and injured over 30.