KYIV, 24 Feb (Al Jazeera) - Ukraine’s military says about 50 Russian forces have been killed and six warplanes destroyed amid fighting in the country’s east.

But Russia’s defence ministry says it has attacked military infrastructure at Ukrainian air bases and degraded Ukraine’s air defences, according to reports by Russian news agencies.

The ministry denied reports that one of its aircraft had been shot down over Ukraine. Ukraine’s military said earlier that five Russian planes and one helicopter had been downed in the country’s eastern Luhansk region.