The news comes as Ukraine continues to fight against Russian forces in the east of the country.
Kyiv’s air force has claimed to have shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter bombers in the south of Ukraine.
Su-34 aircraft are armed with guided bombs and Kh-59 missiles, and can carry out long-distance attacks.
The Ukrainian Air Force said on the Telegram messaging app that it has also shot down 14 Russian drones.
They said: “As a result of air combat, Ukraine’s Air Force and defence forces destroyed 14 shaheds in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Khmelnytskyi regions.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been urging Western allies to keep up their support for Ukraine as Republican Party figures in Washington block President Joe Biden’s funding for Kyiv.
However, while Ukraine struggles for weapons, Mr Zelensky has claimed that Russia’s supply lines are slowing down.
Speaking in his nightly address, the Ukrainian president cited a report by HUR, the country’s military intelligence agency, saying: “Today there was a separate report by the Main Intelligence Directorate. The enemy’s plans, the work of the Russian defence industry – there are signals that they are slowing down. We will help them to slow down even more.”
Russia has focused its recent attacks on the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.
The White House has said the Russian offensive will likely ramp up at the start of 2024.
The US-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War also said: “The fall mud season has hampered ground manoeuvre for both Ukrainian and Russian forces since 2014, but periods of prolonged freezing temperatures that typically start in late December freeze the ground and allow armoured vehicles to move more easily than in muddy autumn and spring months.”
