Ukrainian air defenses might have shot down two Russian military aircraft in a single day, including one destroyed over the Black Sea, according to Russian milbloggers and Ukrainian military officials.
The aircraft were believed to be Su-34 fighter-bombers, one of Russia’s most heavily used strike jets in its war against Ukraine.
The Su-34 is a twin-engine, supersonic fighter-bomber designed to deliver guided bombs, cruise missiles, and anti-ship weapons.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Naval Forces, said initial reports of one shootdown came from Russian pro-war channels rather than Ukrainian officials.
“One of their war correspondents was the first to start whining about the loss,” Pletenchuk said on the My-Ukraine television channel, as reported by UNN. “Information from that source has often been confirmed later.”
He stressed that official confirmation should still be awaited.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, said the losses involved one Su-34 and one Su-30 multirole fighter, not two Su-34s as initially reported.
Russia has relied on the aircraft for long-range strikes on Ukrainian cities, frontline bombing runs, and operations over the Black Sea.
Each jet is estimated to cost tens of millions of dollars and requires highly trained crews that are difficult to replace.
Dmytro Zhmailo, executive director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, said on the air of the telethon that one of the aircraft was reportedly shot down over the Black Sea, while the second was hit and crashed on Russian territory.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Russian forces lost at least one aircraft and hundreds of drones over the past day as Ukrainian air defenses continued to counter Moscow’s aerial campaign.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russia’s air power both at the front and deep in the rear. Last year, the SBU’s elite Alpha unit conducted drone strikes on multiple Russian airfields, destroying aircraft, fuel facilities, and ammunition depots in operations Kyiv says caused more than $1 billion in damage.