Russian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers will have their first face-to-face meeting in Turkey today since the outbreak of war on February 24.

Dışişleri Bakanı Çavuşoğlu, Rusya-Türkiye -Ukrayna üçlü dışişleri bakanları toplantısı öncesi Ukraynalı mevkidaşı Kuleba ile görüştü https://t.co/MoLPqAXXbY pic.twitter.com/hDa7AErs7Q

— ANADOLU AJANSI (@anadoluajansi) March 10, 2022

Sergei Lavrov and Dmitro Kuleba will be hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu in Antalya (south), a tourist resort preferred by many Russian tourists.

Meanwhile, local officials spoke early this morning about Russian bombings in several Ukrainian cities. Russian troops continue to advance to encircle Kyiv and strengthen their positions in Mykolaiv, with attacks reported in Kharkiv, Izium, Sumy, and Okhtyrka, according to the General Staff.

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In the theater of operations, Russian troops continue to advance, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence. 

In fact, the troops of the People’s Republic of Luhansk, continuing their offensive operations, gained control of the settlements of Toshkovka and Grachevo, advancing up to 2 km.

Also, during offensive operations, units of the People’s Republic of Donetsk advanced 4 km and occupied the settlements of Signal, Taramchuk, Elenov, and Labor, with their daily advance in Mariupol exceeding one kilometer.

Also, units of the Russian Armed Forces took control of the settlements of Krasnaya, Polyana, and Stepnoe.

On March 9, Russian Air Force bombers and fighter jets destroyed 49 military facilities and installations, including 2 command posts, 6 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4 ammunition and fuel depots, and 37 weapon and ammunition depots. A total of 2,786 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities were destroyed during the operation.

Among them: 953 main battle tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 101 multi-launcher systems, 351 firearms and ammunition, 718 units of special military vehicles as well as 93 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

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The announcement goes on to emphasize the consequences of the defeat of the aviation and air defence systems of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Prior to the launch of the special military operation by Russia, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had up to 250 fighter jets and helicopters.

The Russian Air Force destroyed 89 fighter jets and 57 of their helicopters on the ground and in the air. In fact, a Ukrainian aircraft took refuge in Romania and did not take part in the fighting.

Ninety percent of the Ukrainian military airports, where the main part of the Ukrainian Air Force was located, have been shut down. There are practically no trained first- and second-class Ukrainian pilots left. To date, only isolated attempts by Ukrainian Air Force fighter jets have been recorded.

Now, regarding the results of the defeat of the Ukrainian air defence systems during the operation, the Russian Armed Forces destroyed 137 anti-aircraft missile systems S-300, Buk M-1 and S-125. This is more than 90% of the long-range and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems in service.

In addition, 81 Ukrainian air defence radar positions have been destroyed. This led to the loss of control of the Ukrainian Air Force and defence. At present, the Ukrainian air defence merely has a local air defence character and cannot be effectively confronted with the Russian Air Force.

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The leadership of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is trying to make up for the lack of information on air situational awareness with intelligence provided from the 3A AWACS aircraft of NATO. These aircraft are in round-the-clock service in Polish airspace.

“Unfortunately, enough evidence has been found of the presence of conscripts in the units of the Russian Armed Forces participating in a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine,” the statement said.

Almost all of these troops have already withdrawn from Russian territory. At the same time, a group of saboteurs of the national battalion attacked one of the units performing logistical support tasks. Several soldiers, including conscripts, were arrested. Measures are currently being taken to prevent the deployment of troops in fighting zones and the release of captured soldiers, the statement concluded.

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