The statement added that the aircraft are designed to destroy ground and air targets, and infrastructure facilities covered by air defense systems. Izvestia reported how on March 31, a Su-34 aircraft had bombed a Ukrainian stronghold in the border area of Russia's Kursk region.

Donald Trump has said the US will "take a pass" on brokering further Russia-Ukraine talks if Moscow or Kyiv "make it very difficult" to reach a peace deal. The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he was not expecting a truce to happen in "a specific number of days" but he wanted it done "quickly".