Moscow - Russian Defence Ministry on Friday said that its forces have staged a "successful landing operation" to capture Gostomel airfield in the suburbs of Kiev in Ukraine.
"On February 24, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a successful landing operation in the area of Gostomel airfield in the suburbs of Kiev. More than 200 Russian helicopters were involved in the operation," the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
"During the capture of the airfield, more than 200 nationalists from the special units of Ukraine were eliminated. The success of the landing was ensured by the suppression of the entire air defence system in the landing area, the complete isolation of the combat area from the air and active electronic warfare," the statement added.
The statement said there are no casualties in the Russian Armed Forces.
"At present, the main forces of the airborne troops have connected with the units of the Russian servicemen at the Gostomel airfield, blocking Kiev from the west. The units of the Russian Armed Forces continue to perform tasks in the area of Kiev and other cities," the statement said.
"At present, reconnaissance data show that Grad multiple launch rocket system mounts have been deployed on Shevchenko Square in Kiev to strike at the Gostomel airfield," it added.
The Ministry claimed that Pentagon and CIA advisers "taught the Ukrainian military leadership how to place rocket artillery systems in residential areas to provoke return fire on local residents".
"Use by the Kiev regime of residential areas to cover the firing positions of its artillery is a war crime. This is familiar to us. These techniques are actively used by terrorists supervised by the CIA in the Middle East and other countries," the statement said.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that Ukraine "nationalist leadership uses the same methods as the terrorists" and that it wants to use citizens "as a human shield".
"Russian Armed Forces will not inflict any strikes on residential areas of the Ukrainian capital," the statement said.
The Russian Defence Ministry also said that the units of the Lugansk People's Republic in the Severodonetsk direction rapidly advanced to a depth of 12 kilometres. It said the troops of the Donetsk People's Republic in the direction of Volnovakha advanced 11 kilometres deep into the defence of the nationalist battalions.
The statement said the units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have completed blocking Chernihiv city.
"Russian servicemen are taking all measures to prevent casualties among the civilian population," it said.
The statement claimed that "units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not participate in hostilities for the most part" and "only battalions of Ukrainian Nazis are resisting".
"Moreover, in advance, the Security Service of Ukraine integrated into the military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces groups of notorious nationalists numbering 25-30 people who underwent special training.
“Nationalists identify unreliable among Ukrainian servicemen. And if the commanders of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decide to withdraw from the occupied lines, they act as barrage detachments. In some directions, they blow up bridges to exclude the possibility of retreat of military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the statement said.
The statement claimed citing "Ukrainian servicemen who laid down their arms" that more than one case has been recorded of "lynching and reprisals by nationalists against who do not want to fight to intimidate the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine".
Russian President Vladimir Putin had on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.
Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region.