May 1 (Reuters) – Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday it had struck at weapons supplied to Ukraine by the United States and European countries and destroyed a runway at a military airfield near the Ukrainian city of Odesa.
The ministry said it used high-precision Onyx missiles to strike the airfield, after Ukraine accused Russia of knocking out a newly-constructed runway at the main airport of Odesa.
Odesa regional governor Maksym Marchenko said Russia had used a Bastion missile, launched from Crimea.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
Russia’s defence ministry also said its air defence systems had shot down two Ukrainian Su-24m bombers over the Kharkiv region overnight.
Russia probably aims to exert strong political and economic influence on Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson in the long term, after ruling out its return to Ukrainian control and initiating a currency switch to the rouble, Britain said.
“Since seizing … Kherson in early March, Russia has sought to legitimise its control of the city and surrounding areas through installing a pro-Russian administration,” the defence ministry said in a Twitter bulletin on Sunday.
Russia’s enduring control of the region and transport links will benefit its ability to sustain advances to the north and west and improve its security control of the nearby Crimea, the update added.
