Ukrainian Forces Achieve Significant Blow against Russian Air Force Story by Ella Bennet • 17 February 2024
Ukrainian Forces Achieve Significant Blow against Russian Air Force
© Provided by The UBJ
In a series of successful operations, Ukrainian air defense has brought down two Russian Su-34 fighter bombers and a Russian Su-35 fighter on February 17, as announced by Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
This accomplishment follows the downing of a high-value Beriev A-50 early warning aircraft earlier this year in January, which was valued at $330 million.
Reportedly, the incidents with the three aircraft took place in eastern Ukraine early in the morning, as shared by Oleshchuk through a Telegram message.
While the Su-35 is designed as a single-seat, the Su-34 accommodates two crew members. Post the downing, intercepted communications indicated that the Russian military had located only one pilot, with the status of the other four remaining uncertain, as Oleshchuk later revealed.
A post from a Russian propaganda channel on Telegram erroneously claimed that only the Su-35 had been lost and that other planes had returned safely, contradicting the intercepted communications.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, over 330 Russian aircraft have been destroyed, as reported by Ukraine’s Armed Forces on Feb. 17.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the increase in aircraft losses has influenced a tactical shift in Russian air strategies, evident in the decreased number of sorties conducted by the Russian Air Force since December 2023.
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Meanwhile, Ukraine is looking to bolster its military capabilities with domestic drone technology, as declared by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 7. He announced the formation of a new branch within the Ukrainian Armed Forces dedicated to the innovative use of drones. The country has showcased considerable prowess in utilizing drones in conflict scenarios, ranging from purpose-built military UAVs to the adaption of commercial drones for military applications.
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Poster Comment:
I worked with a Ukrainian-American man. He lived in Uke Village on near northwest side of Chicago. He said his Grandma told him, "When the Bolsheviks took over, they even raked out our root cellars."
He was supposed to get married, but the woman took off on him. :-/