The commander of the Ukrainian army, General Valery Zaluzhny, confirmed on Monday that two expensive and advanced Russian Air Force planes over the Sea of Azov were hit in an anti-aircraft ambush set by the army.
According to the commander, an A-50 was shot down and an IL-22 was hit and forced to make a forced landing. "The special operation in the Sea of Azov region has been crowned with success, moving on," the Ukrainian commander said in a brief statement.
Both planes were shot down, apparently by American-made anti-aircraft missiles, yesterday evening. It was reported that the IL-22 was also hit but managed to return to base and several crew members on board were wounded. Russian media reports claimed that the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire in the Kerch Bridge area, after the Russian military thought the bridge was under attack.
This is a significant blow to the capabilities of the Russian Air Force, which has only 12 A-50s in active service, one of which was shot down by Wagner mercenaries during their rebellion in the summer months. In addition, a plane of this type was hit and destroyed by a drone flown by Belarusian partisans in Belarus last year.
💥Kamikaze drone detonating the Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft nearly a year ago at an airfield in Belarus. After Ukraine shot down another A-50 behemoth over the Azov Sea last night, Russia only has a handful left, and some may not even function. https://t.co/gYLT98u7Kc pic.twitter.com/Fz1HTUseb0
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) January 15, 2024
The A-50 carries a large radar system and is used for reconnaissance and electronic warfare, two very important components of the Russian fighting in Ukraine and a significant advantage of the Russian Air Force over its Ukrainian counterpart. Worse than downing the plane, as far as Moscow is concerned, the possible deprivation of Russian spy planes of airspace could significantly impair Russia's ability to operate real-time intelligence on Ukraine's front lines.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us