Ukraine retains control of the majority of its airspace, according to the British defence ministry, which also stated that Russia has failed to effectively destroy or repress Ukraine’s air force.

“Russian aviation access to the north and west of Ukraine is extremely limited,” it stated on Twitter, “limiting offensive measures to deep strikes with stand-off weapons.”

“Russian air activity is primarily focused on southern and eastern Ukraine, providing support to Russian ground forces,” the ministry added in a regular bulletin.

Russia continues to target Ukrainian military assets and logistics infrastructure nationwide, British military intelligence said in the update.

It flagged a higher risk of civilian casualties, saying most Russian air strikes in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol were probably using unguided free-falling bombs.

“These weapons reduce Russia’s ability to effectively discriminate when conducting strikes, increasing the risk of civilian casualties.”