The Ukrainian Air Force stated this Friday that it shot down a Russian A-50U radar plane over the Sea of Azov and presented a map that appears to show that the device fell in southern Russia.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense indicated that “thanks to a joint operation” of its intelligence service with the Air Force “another valuable Russian A-50U aircraft was destroyed over the Sea of Azov.”
The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate assured on its Telegram channel that the Russian plane was an “air command post that the aggressor state used for radar detection, control and guidance long-range attacks on Ukraine with strategic aviation missiles.
The downed aircraft would have fallen, according to Ukrainian sources, near the city of Yeysk, north of the Kanevskoy district.
(Also read: What is known about the origin of the deadly fire in a residential building in Spain?)
Ukraine's military intelligence agency also said the shootdown is “another serious blow” to Russia's military capabilities.
While Moscow has not commented on the downing of the plane, the state news agency RIA Novosti did report that “an unidentified plane crashed in the Kanevskoy district in Krasnodar Krai.”
Ukrainian Air Defense Forces, likely utilizing a MIM-104 “Patriot” Surface-to-Air Missile Battery near the Frontlines, have reportedly Shot Down another Russian A-50U “Mainstay” Airborne-Early Warning and Control Aircraft today over the Sea of Azov , with Footage showing several… pic.twitter.com/RKbcZIHAA4
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 23, 2024
It is not the first time that Ukrainian authorities claim to have shot down an A-50 plane belonging to the Russians. Last January, kyiv also claimed to have attacked an A-50 flying over the Sea of Azov and caused damage to another Il-22M aircraft. Although on that occasion Russia refused to react to the news.
Since the beginning of the war, in total, The Ukrainian Armed Forces say they have shot down a total of 336 Russian military aircraft.
(Also: Europeans have little faith in a Ukrainian victory over Russia / Around the world)
On Monday, for example, the Ukrainian Air Force announced the downing of two Russian fighters on the Eastern Front: a Su-34 and a Su-35, two of the most expensive and sophisticated combat aircraft that Russia has.
The head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Sirski, explained that the two downed planes were used by Russia to drop guided aerial bombs on Ukrainian positions.
And on Saturday, the Ukrainian Air Force also reported the downing of two Russian Su-34s and one Su-35 in the east of the country.
Why is the Russian A-50 important?
The A-50, according to the Spanish newspaper ABC, It is an aircraft that is valued at 350 million dollars.
According to DW, these are aircraft that were developed in the 1970s in the Soviet Union, using the Il-76 transport aircraft as a base.
These types of aircraft are key to Russia's operation, because They perform reconnaissance and detection functions of targets on the ground.
Press reports also mention that the radar of this aircraft can detect other aircraft at least 600 kilometers away and can follow 150 targets simultaneously.
According to Sputnik, “the multifunctional radio technical complex installed on board is used for the detection of air, surface and ground targets, the transfer of target designation and the coordination of allied forces. In fact, this aircraft combines a powerful air radar and a flying command post.”
Sergej Sumlenny, founder of the European Resilience Initiative Center, stated in his X account that the value of an A-50 aircraft lies in several factors. First, Moscow has very few in its possession and no new ones are produced. Russia would have at least a dozen of these aircraft in its possession, but has no way to recover them when they are attacked and shot down.
The second factor, he assures, is that it is an aircraft that requires a large crew that is not replaceable.
“The A-50 crew consists of 15 to 16 people, of which 10 to 11 are highly qualified operators, mostly OF-3 to OF-5. Their education and training spans decades. The A-50 transports 20 tons of special equipment,” he said.
(Also: The US city that declared itself anti-immigrant and will not receive any undocumented immigrants)
Those who stress the price of an A-50 as a significance of its kill, are wrong. The price is almost irrelevant: payment done decades ago. Real significance is:
1) There are very few A-50s, Russia doesn't produce new ones, the fleet is halved
2) Its crew is huge and not replaceable pic.twitter.com/lFlu9Qtl9P— Sergej Sumlenny, LL.M (@sumlenny) February 23, 2024
The news of the demolition comes just as two years have passed since Russia launched the large-scale invasion against Ukraine. To date, the invasion has caused more than 10,000 civilian deaths and 20,000 civilian injuries, leaving some 18 million people in need of humanitarian aid, representing almost 40% of the Ukrainian population.
This Friday, more than thirty United Nations experts launched a joint call to redouble the efforts of the international community to find “without delay” a path of peace to end the war in Ukraine, two years after the conflict.
“As time passes with no prospect of peace, the trauma of war consolidates and will cause even more suffering and devastation,” said the experts, including the UN rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, or her counterpart. on Extrajudicial Executions, Morris Tidball-Binz.
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
TIME
*With agencies
#Russian #A50 #radar #spy #plane #Ukrainian #troops #shot