2024-01-15 09:49:43
Ukraine says it has shot down two strategically important Russian military aircraft. An A-50 early warning reconnaissance aircraft and an Il-22M flying command center were hit, wrote the deputy head of the Committee for National Security, Defense and Intelligence in the Ukrainian Parliament, Yuri Mysyagin, on Telegram on Monday. Local media had previously reported on it that night. There is no official confirmation from Moscow.
According to media reports, the A-50 disappeared from radars following being hit over the southeastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia. The Il-22M11 – a modernized variant of the Il-22M – is said to have been hit over the Sea of Azov and made an emergency landing in the southern Russian city of Anapa. The pilot requested an ambulance to the landing site, RBK-Ukraina reported, citing allegedly intercepted radio messages.
The Ukrainian General Staff did not report the shooting in its situation report on Monday morning. However, Air Force Chief Mykola Oleshchuk posted a plane and a fire sign with the signature: “This is what you get for Dnipro! Burn in hell.” A year ago, on January 14, 2023, dozens of people were killed when a Russian missile hit a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Russian military bloggers speculated whether their own anti-aircraft defense was responsible for shooting down the planes. There have been several such cases in the past two years, wrote the influential military blogger Rybar.
If the losses are confirmed, it would be a bitter blow for the Russian Air Force, as the two aircraft are equipped with expensive special equipment and were only produced in small numbers. The Russian armed forces reportedly only have around a dozen A-50s and regarding the same number of Il-22Ms.
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