By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Russia claimed on Tuesday that Ukraine's military had been cut off from the Sea of Azov.
Rebel advance forces of the breakaway Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine united with Russian troops on the administrative border of Donetsk and blocked access to the sea, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a daily press conference in Moscow.
As of Tuesday, the Russian military struck 1,325 Ukrainian military infrastructure targets, including two airfields and three air defense radar posts, 43 control and communication centers, 395 tanks and other armored vehicles, 59 multiple rocket launchers, 179 pieces of field artillery and mortars, and 286 units of special military vehicles, said Konashenkov.
He underlined that the strikes were being "carried out with high-precision weapons" that prevented damage to civilian infrastructure and residential buildings.
In addition, separatist forces took control of ten more settlements, he added.
Since last Thursday -- days after Russian recognition of two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine -- Russia's war on Ukraine has been met by an outcry from the international community, with the EU, UK, and the US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.
Russia has been further isolated after its planes have been barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and a number of its banks have been kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.