UPDATE - Russia says 2 US-made HIMARS installations destroyed in Ukraine’s Donetsk region

ADDS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY STATEMENT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said on Tuesday that two US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers were destroyed by Russian strikes near the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

“During a counter-battery fight near the city of Kramatorsk, positions were opened and two launchers of the US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems were destroyed,” a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry read.

The statement also claimed that more than 130 foreign mercenaries were killed by precision strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces near the city.

The strikes came a day after a Ukrainian rocket strike killed at least 63 Russian soldiers at a Russian deployment area near the city of Makiivka in the Moscow-controlled part of the Donetsk region.​​​​​​​