By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Russia claimed on Tuesday to have destroyed 2,581 Ukrainian military infrastructure targets since it launched a war on Ukraine 13 days ago.
These include 90 control and communication centers; 123 S-300, Buk-M1, and Osa air defense systems; and 81 radar stations, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a daily briefing in Moscow.
"Besides, 897 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 95 multiple rocket launchers, 336 field artillery and mortars, 662 units of special military vehicles, and 84 unmanned aerial vehicles were disabled," added Konashenkov.
He also said that rebel forces of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions took control of seven more settlements.
The spokesman stressed that Russian forces in Ukraine were doing "everything possible to avoid casualties among civilians."
He also underlined that Moscow insists on establishing a communication channel with Ukraine on the issue of evacuating civilians from the battle zone.
Russia's war on Ukraine, which began Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.
At least 474 civilians have been killed and 861 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, while noting that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.
Some 2 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency.