Ukraine has claimed to have inflicted a significant blow on Vladimir Putin's forces.
The Financial Times reported on an update by Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, claiming losses that the Russian military had incurred.
Maliar reportedly wrote in a Facebook post: "Since the beginning of the open large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine, the troops of the invading country have suffered the following losses (approximately) as of 3pm Friday:
- Tanks — up to 80
- Armored combat vehicles of various types — 516
- Aircraft — 10
- Helicopters — 7
- Special staff — 2,800
We are strong! Victory will be ours."
On Thursday, at least 15 Russian T-72 tanks were "destroyed or damaged by the Ukrainian forces using the Javelin PTRK, an American anti-tank missile, near Glukhov," according to the Daily Mail.
Ukraine has reportedly launched a counteroffensive and attacked a Russian military base approximately 10 miles from the border of the warring countries, Newsweek reported.
The Daily Mail added, "Ukrainian forces claimed on Friday to have destroyed part of an airfield in Millerovo in southern Russia, destroying several of Moscow's fighter jets."
The U.K. Ministry of Defense stated Thursday: "It is unlikely that Russia has achieved its planned Day 1 military objectives. Ukrainian forces have presented fierce resistance across all axes of Russia's advances."
The British agency also acknowledged that Russian forces "highly likely" captured the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant. Ukrainian officials have since confirmed the report, adding that Russian forces have seized control of the now-defunct nuclear power plant and that the staff are being "held hostage," according to CNN.
Ukraine lost one of its best fighter jets on early Friday morning. CNN reported that a Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet was shot down over Kyiv shortly before dawn on Friday, according to Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Evgeny Yenin. Several videos capture the fiery scene above the country's capital city of nearly 3,000 residents as smoldering debris rains down on Kyiv.
Before the war started, Ukraine only had 34 Su-27 fighter jets, according to Forbes.
The destroyed plane caused a high-rise apartment to catch fire. Three people in the apartment building were injured, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
The New York Times reported that the United Nations released a statement on Friday claiming that they had received reports of at least 25 civilians have been killed and 127 injured in Ukraine due to "shelling and airstrikes" from the Russian invasion. The U.N. cautioned that the actual death toll was likely much higher.
The U.N. also estimates that roughly 100,000 Ukrainians have fled their homes, many traveling to neighboring countries for safety.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law following the Russian invasion. The declaration prohibits Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 to leave the country, CBS News reported.
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