Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday its forces shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane carrying weapons and munitions near the Black Sea port of Odesa.
The ministry said Russian missiles also struck an artillery training centre in Ukraine's Sumy region where foreign instructors worked. Another strike destroyed a "foreign mercenaries'" outpost in the Odesa region, it said.
Reuters could not independently verify the claims.
Meanwhile, Ukraine wants to strengthen its positions on the ground with the help of new weapons deliveries from the West before it resumes peace talks with Russia, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said.
"Our armed forces are ready to use (the new weapons)...and then I think we can initiate a new round of talks from a strengthened position," he told Ukraine national television on Friday.
Ukraine said it had recaptured a chunk of the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region, the focus of a Russian offensive to take the eastern Donbas region.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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