This Monday, January 15, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down two Russian airborne command planes over the Sea of Azov. Which would be a big blow for Russia in an area it is supposed to control.
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“ I thank the Air Force for this perfectly planned and executed operation in the Azov Sea region! », Reacted the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zalouzhny. Indeed, according to kyiv, an A-50, an airborne detection, surveillance and command device, and an Il-22, an aircraft also serving as a command post, were destroyed. The Ukrainian army, however, did not specify how these devices were shot down.
No Russian comments
These planes are usually used for intelligence, target identification and troop coordination. Asked about this during a briefing with the press, the Kremlin spokesperson assured that he could not comment, due to lack of information on the subject. “ We have no information » on this, said Dmitri Peskov, before referring to the Russian Ministry of Defense which has generally remained silent on its losses and failures since the start of the Russian invasion, almost two years ago.
Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses strengthened
Russia has repeatedly claimed to have air supremacy over Ukraine, but in reality this has never been lasting or complete. Western military aid has also strengthened Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defense for almost two years, in order to protect the country from the volleys of missiles and drones that Russia sends almost daily to Ukrainian cities.
(With AFP)
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