The A-50 and IL-22 play a central function in orchestrating Russian battlefield actions in Ukraine.
Ukraine has stated it shot down an A-50 Russian reconnaissance airplane and an Il-22 airborne command put up in a doubtlessly vital blow to the Kremlin’s forces.
Ukrainian military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi introduced the plane had been hit on the Telegram messenger on Monday, posting a video of a monitoring map suggesting the planes have been struck over the Sea of Azov, which lies to the east of the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.
“I am grateful to the air force for the excellently planned and conducted operation in Azov region!” Zaluzhnyi wrote.
Hours after Zaluzhnyi’s assertion, a Russian navy weblog posted a picture of the shrapnel-riddled tail part of an Il-22 standing on the tarmac and lauded the crew as “real heroes”.
Kyiv’s Air Pressure spokesman Yuriy Ignat reposted the picture, saying the airplane appeared to have made it to the Russian city of Anapa however that it was past restore because it had been on fireplace. He added that the A-50 had been Kyiv’s precedence goal.
The A-50 is a Russian reconnaissance airplane, equal to the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Management System) airplane, utilized by NATO. Topped with a big radar, it sometimes has a crew of 15 and may scan an space of a number of hundred kilometres for enemy plane, ships and missiles. The Russian Air Pressure is assumed to have 9 of the planes in its fleet.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern navy command, advised a briefing that Russia had used the airplane extensively to arrange for and conduct long-range missile strikes on Ukraine.
“We expect such a strike [on the A-50] to be fairly painful and, at least, to delay powerful missile strikes,” she stated.
The Il-22, in the meantime, oversees navy operations and sends radio indicators to troops on the entrance line. The Russian Air Pressure reportedly has a dozen such planes.
‘No information’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised reporters he had “no information” on the assaults and that additional questions needs to be directed to the Defence Ministry.
Russia has largely maintained air dominance since launching a full-scale invasion of its neighbour almost two years in the past. The A-50 and IL-22 play a central function in orchestrating Russian battlefield actions in Ukraine. Their loss could be a landmark feat for Kyiv in addition to a serious blow to Moscow with preventing alongside the entrance line largely slowed down in trench and artillery warfare.
Russian navy bloggers with shut military hyperlinks did report an incident over the Azov Sea.
“It will be another dark day for the Russian Aerospace Forces and Air Defense,” wrote Rybar, a blogger with almost 1.2 million subscribers who helps and offers operating commentary on Russia’s warfare in Ukraine.
“There are not many A-50s. And the specialists operating them are generally rare. If an aircraft of this type is hit, the crew will not be able to escape.”
Telegram channel WarGonzo acknowledged that the A-50 had been destroyed.
“Unfortunately war is never without tragedies, and the death of our fighters always hurts. We express our condolences to the families and close ones of the crew,” it stated.
It too reported that the Il-22 was capable of make it again to base.
“According to reports, the pilots were able to land the damaged machine,” it stated.
A February 2023 drone assault at an airfield in Belarus broken a parked A-50 however Russian and Belarusian officers described the injury as minor.