Putin says Russian anti-aircraft forces 'cracking' enemy weapons 'like nuts'

Russian anti-aircraft forces have shot down dozens of Ukrainian weapons and are "cracking them like nuts," President Vladimir Putin said in a brief excerpt of an interview aired on Saturday.

RIA news agency, which first cited the comments, quoted Putin as responding to a question about US-supplied arms by saying, Russia was coping easily and had already destroyed the weapons by the dozen.

But the clip of an interview to be aired on Sunday made clear that Putin had in fact been responding to a different question, which was not shown.

"Our anti-aircraft systems are crunching them like nuts. Dozens have been destroyed," Putin said.

Although the exact kind of weapon was not clear, Russia says it has destroyed both aircraft and missiles fielded by Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine said on Saturday it had recaptured a swathe of the battlefield city of Sievierodonetsk, in a rare counter-offensive against Russia's main assault force that had been steadily advancing in the east.

The Ukrainian claim could not be independently verified and Moscow said its own forces were making gains there. But it was the first time Kyiv has claimed to have launched a big counter-attack in Sieverodonetsk after days of yielding ground there.

Russia has concentrated its forces on Sievierodonetsk in recent weeks for one of the biggest ground battles of the war, with Moscow appearing to bet its campaign on capturing one of two eastern provinces it claims on behalf of separatist proxies.

Both sides have claimed to have inflicted huge casualties in the fighting for the small industrial city, a battle that military experts say could determine which side has the momentum for a prolonged war of attrition in coming months.