UPDATE - Ukraine shoots down Russian fighter jet: Kyiv

UPDATES GENERAL STAFF STATEMENT

By Bahtiyar Abdulkerimov and Ali Cura

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) - Ukraine shot down a Russian SU-25 fighter jet near Kalynivka in the Vinnytsia region, a Ukrainian official said Saturday.

The head of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, Serhiy Borzov, said on social media that the fighter jet was shot down by Ukrainian military pilots near Kalynivka.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Facebook that Ukrainian air defense systems shot down a IL-76 aircraft carrying paratroopers from the Russian airborne troops in the Vasylkiv region.

Located near Kyiv, Vasylkiv is 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Russia's military intervention in Ukraine entered its third day Saturday, with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops were heading toward the capital, Kyiv, from several directions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military intervention Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighboring country, but wanted to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to install a puppet government and said Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.