As of: February 24, 2024, 10:25 a.m
By: Victoria Krumbeck
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Press
Split
Ukraine has once again claimed responsibility for shooting down a Russian surveillance aircraft.
Russia's A-50 stocks continue to decline.
Kiev – Just one day before the second anniversary of the Ukraine War, Ukraine has scored an important blow against Russia.
Ukrainian troops are said to have shot down a Russian A-50 military spy plane around 200 kilometers from the front line.
Russia is said to have only a few aircraft of this type left.
Footage showing the crash is circulating on social networks.
Archive image of a Russian Beriev A-50 - an aircraft of this type is said to have shot down Ukraine.
© dpa/AP |
Uncredited
Success for Ukraine: Russian spy plane shot down
According to Ukrainian military sources, the plane was hit on Friday (February 23) between the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar,
BBC
reported.
The head of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, thanked them for their cooperation in the shoot-down.
“I thank the main reconnaissance of the Ministry of Defense and everyone who ensured this result!” Oleshchuk wrote on Telegram on Friday.
Videos shared by military blogger Igor Sushko on X (formerly Twitter) or by the X account “Osinttechnical” purport to show the crash.
In one video you can see a fireball hitting a plane, and in another you can hear an explosion.
In addition, footage shows a huge fire on the ground with smoke rising high, which is supposed to show the burning plane wreckage.
Ukraine shoots down Russian spy plane – Russia remains silent
Isolated voices from Russia indicate possible friendly fire.
“It is currently unknown who shot it down,”
BBC
quoted military blogger Fighterbomber as saying.
The state agency Tass reported a fire near Krasnodar caused by a “falling flying object”.
It was not until mid-January that Ukraine claimed that an A-50 aircraft had been shot down.
Shooting down another spy plane would come at a high cost to Russia.
The construction of the machine can cost several hundred million euros.
It is unclear how many A-50 models Russia still has.
Military experts assume that Russia only has half a dozen reconnaissance machines left.
(vk)