Ukraine shoots down £235m Russian spy plane

This Il-22 command post plane came under fire, but managed to make an emergency landing. Photo: TELEGRAM

Ukrainian forces destroy plane A £235 million Russian spy plane has seriously damaged a second in a major blow to Moscow's air force.

Russian Beriev A-50 long-range reconnaissance plane has been shot down during a late patrol in the Azov Sea area. Last week, during an emergency landing of an Il-22 airborne command post, Ukrainian sources reported.

“The A-50 was shot down and exploded,” said Chief of Staff Major General Kirill Budanov.

“The IL-22 was badly damaged, but unfortunately for us, it managed to make an emergency landing in Anapa [a Russian city on the Black Sea.» coast],» he added.

General Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, previously said both planes were «destroyed» in response to reports of strikes that emerged over the weekend.

He shared a radar image that appears to show two planes disappearing over the water.

“I am grateful to the Air Force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in the Azov region,” added the Army Commander-in-Chief.

Moscow did not do this. commented on the claims.

But the loss of the A-50 was confirmed by Fighterbomber, a well-known Russian military blogger with connections to the country's Air Force.

The A-50, known as a “flying radar,” is used by Moscow to track Ukrainian aircraft and missiles up to 400 miles away. Photo: REUTERS

The pro-war Telegram channel shared on the social network an image of the wing and rear of the Il-22 damaged as a result of the impact.

«The wreckage cannot be repaired»

«But, as you can see, the wreckage cannot be repaired» repairs,” said Yuriy Ignat, a representative of the Ukrainian Air Force.

The Soviet-designed A-50, known as the «flying radar» and codenamed «Mainstay» by NATO, is an early warning and control system used by Moscow to track Ukrainian aircraft and missiles up to 400 miles away.

Four-engine aircraft with a crew of 15 people. , can also use a rotating radar to detect ground targets up to 186 miles away.

British intelligence officials said late last year that Moscow was likely upgrading its fleet in anticipation of the arrival of F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine.

Any loss of aircraft worth £235m is seen as «significant because Russia has a limited number of them», says Rob Lee, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Russia was thought to have nine aircraft — spies, but one of them was damaged last March when Ukrainian saboteurs attacked it with drones while it was parked at an airfield in Machulishchi, Belarus.

“There are only eight A.-50s there in good condition «, said Major General Budanov.

Some Russian military bloggers have suggested that the A-50 may have been shot down by the Kremlin's own air defenses in an increasingly frequent «friendly fire» incident. business as usual.

But since the US-made Patriot air defense system arrived in Ukraine last year, Kiev has launched a series of successful strikes as part of a campaign to deny Russian aircraft access to its skies.

Professor Justin Bronk, a senior fellow in aviation and technology at the Royal United Services Institute, said the damage caused by the Il-22 was «consistent» with a Patriot PAC-2 GEM strike.

He added that The system will likely have to be dragged close to the front line in the southern Zaporozhye region to deliver a strike at a range of about 90 miles.

Surface-to-air strikes

In December, Ukrainian forces similarly shot down four Russian Su-34 strike aircraft and one Su-30 fighter in a series of surface-to-air strikes.

The loss of the A-50 will affect Moscow's ability to coordinate the war effort «around the clock,» said Major General Budsanov.

The plane was shot down shortly after takeoff near Kirillovka, a coastal town on the northern Azov coast in the occupied Zaporozhye region, in Around 21:10 local time on Sunday, Ukrainian media reported, citing defense sources.

The entire crew was killed as a result of the strike, Fighterbomber reported.

Around the same time, Il- 22 was also hit and damaged, reportedly killing two crew members and sending it limping back to a nearby airbase in Russia.

Jimmy Rushton, an independent analyst in Kiev, said : “The Ukrainian Air Force is currently largely unable to challenge the Russians in the area, so it has resorted to creative use of Western-provided long-range ground-based surface-to-air missile systems (such as Patriot) stationed in areas inaccessible For Russians. expecting them to ambush Russian aircraft.”