According to Ukraine, a Russian Beriev A-50 radar surveillance plane crashed into the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense says the radar is worth more than 300 million euros.
Ukrainian military intelligence sources tell the Kyiv Post newspaper that the country’s armed forces shot down a Russian A-50 radar surveillance plane on Sunday.
Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi has also reported on the shooting down of the plane on the instant messaging service Telegram.
– I thank our air force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in the Sea of Azov, Zaluzhnyi writes.
According to the sources, the plane had fallen into the Sea of Azov, i.e. the Black Sea region east of Crimea.
A huge loss for Russia
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine says that the downed plane was worth more than 300 million euros.
In addition, the Ukrainians say they hit a Russian Il-22 combat control plane, which had to make a forced landing. According to the Ukrainian media, the plane had sent an emergency call and requested an ambulance and the fire department to the field.
Military sources did not tell Kyiv Post with which weapon system the Russian planes had been hit.
If the information about the loss of two planes is confirmed, it will be one of the worst losses for the Russian Air Force during the war.
Dropping a radar plane and a combat control plane would be a success for Ukraine also because the war on the fronts has already stalled for months.
War bloggers: Limited radars
Russia has not officially commented on the Ukrainians’ information. Among other things, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov according to him, he has no information about it.
A few Russian war bloggers have instead commented on the events and consider the shootings a huge loss for Russia.
– This is another dark day for the Russian air force and air defense, war blogger Rybar write.
Rybari has more than a million followers. He points out that there are not many A-50 radars in Russia.
– In addition, there are few people who operate these machines. If such a plane is hit, the crew cannot escape.
According to a report three years ago by the British IISS think tank, Russia has nine A-50 radar planes, four of which are renewed A-50U planes.