LIVETEXT War in Ukraine, Day 795 | Several Ukrainian Regions Targeted by Drone Strikes. New Kiev

Since the start of the war, Russia has lost nearly half a million people, according to estimates by the British Ministry of Defence, which responded to a request and provided information that British officials have, writes the UK Defense Journal website. The toll includes both killed and wounded soldiers.

“We estimate that around 450,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already defected since the beginning of the conflict. The number of personnel killed in Russian private military companies (for example, Wagner mercenaries, ed.) is not clear,” said Leo Docherty, Secretary of State for the Armed Forces at the British Ministry of Defence, in response to John’s questioning Healey, Labor MP and shadow cabinet minister for defence.

More details: The Russians have lost 450,000 soldiers in Ukraine, killed or wounded, the British Ministry of Defense estimates. “Tens of thousands more have defected since the conflict began”

Air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 17 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones over four Russian regions last night, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday, quoted by the state-run Interfax news agency.

“Service air defense systems destroyed and intercepted 17 Ukrainian drones, of which: nine over the territory of the Bryansk region, three over the territory of the Kursk region, two over the territory of the Belgorod region and three over the territory of the Kaluga region,” the ministry stated in a statement .

Russian troops attacked Ukraine with nine drones on the night of April 28, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk announced. Five of them were shot down by the Ukrainian air defense, reports The Kyiv Independent.

Four Shahed attack drones were launched from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea. Ukrainian defenses shot them all down over Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Kirovohrad regions, authorities said.

Russian forces launched another five drones of an unknown type from the occupied territory of the Kherson region, one of which was shot down over the Mikolaiv region, Oleshchuk said.

Russia also launched an S-300 missile from its Belgorod region, the official added.

The city of Mykolaiv was attacked by a drone on Sunday morning, the governor of the region of the same name, Vitalii Kim, said. As a result of the attack, a hotel was “severely” damaged and caught fire, with the fire being extinguished in the meantime.

“The owners of the hotel have barely recovered from the attacks that took place in 2022. There is a sports school for children and a stadium nearby. There are no military installations,” Kim wrote on Telegram.

The attack also damaged a heat generation infrastructure facility, several cars and damaged the windows of another hotel, Kim added. No casualties were reported.

The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexandr Bogomaz, announced on Sunday the neutralization of an attack by four drones launched by Ukrainian forces, Interfax reports.

“Four aircraft-type enemy drones were destroyed by the air defense forces of the Russian Ministry of Defense over the Sevsky district,” Bogomaz wrote on his Telegram channel.

There were no injuries or material damage, the head of the region added.

On Saturday evening, the movement of Shahed attack drones was recorded in several regions of Ukraine, the country’s Armed Forces announced, quoted by Ukrainska Pravda.

The presence of drones was reported over Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Cherkassy and Khmelnytskyi regions.

On the morning of April 28, sounds of explosions were heard in Mikolaev, the mayor announced.

The Ukrainian army on Saturday rejected a story published by the Associated Press (AP), which announced that the Ukrainian forces had withdrawn the Abrams tanks supplied by the US from the front, informs The Kyiv Independent.

“Tanks do an excellent job on the battlefield, and we certainly won’t hide from the enemy what makes them hide. Moreover, we will not leave our infantry without heavy fire support,” announced Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, the unit that operates the American tanks.

On April 25, the AP reported that, according to two US military officials, Ukrainian forces withdrew Abrams tanks from the front line because of Russian drones.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announces that it has carried out 35 strikes in the last week against energy installations, defense factories, railway infrastructure, air defense and ammunition stocks in Ukraine, Sky News reports.

The strikes were “in response to attempts by the Kiev regime to damage Russian energy and industrial facilities,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has targeted oil refineries and other Russian facilities in drone strikes, despite US requests not to do so.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said Russian missiles hit energy facilities in central and western Ukraine today.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Russia used long-range precision weapons launched from the sea and air, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and drones.