Fighter jets fly during the joint military drills of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus at a firing range in the Brest Region, Belarus February 19, 2022. Vadim Yakubyonok/Belta/Handout via REUTERS
Five Russian planes and a helicopter were shot down in Ukraine's Luhansk region, the country's military claimed today, Ukrainian media KyivPost says.

Ukraine military says five Russian planes and a Russian helicopter were shot down in Luhansk region

— KyivPost (@KyivPost) https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1496727929157566465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2022
The country's defense ministry said: "The opposition is counting losses. Stay calm and believe in the Ukrainian defense," according to NBC News report.

All flights in Ukraine are closed, it added.

Earlier today, Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east, according to Reuters report.