Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) have brought down another Russian Su-34 fighter bomber, the ninth Russian frontline aircraft recently shot down.
The two-man crew managed to eject, according to the Air Force’s Commander.
“Minus another Su-34 in the eastern direction! Yesterday, Russian pilots managed to dodge our missiles, but this will not always be the case!” Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk reported in a Telegram post.
“I advise the invaders to see their relatives before each flight. Because who knows if he'll be lucky or not this time,” he added.
The Sukhoi Su-34 (NATO: Fullback) is Russia’s premier frontline fighter bomber, designed primarily for launching laser-guided bombs or long-range guided missiles in precision strikes on ground targets.
The Su-34 is equipped with a radar that also enables it to employ modern Russian air-to-air missiles.
With a price tag of around $36 million each, the Su-34 is one of the Russian military’s most expensive aircraft.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, from Feb. 24, 2022 to Feb. 21, 2024 Ukrainian forces have destroyed 340 fixed wing aircraft and 325 helicopters belonging to the Russians.
In a significant series of blows against Russian forces’ aircraft, Ukraine's Air Force had downed a Russian A-50U long-range radar detection aircraft near the Sea of Azov using a Soviet S-200 anti-aircraft system.
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The aircraft typically fly with a crew of up to 15 personnel and are vital to providing guidance to its own aircraft on the disposition of the enemy, allowing them to intercept and engage adversary aircraft.
Before these incident, on Wednesday, Feb. 21, the AFU downed another Russian Su-34 fighter bomber.
Prior to that, on Monday, Feb. 19, the UAF shot down two more aircraft, a Su-34 and a Su-35 multi-role fighter.
Confirming Monday’s engagement successes, Oleshchuk said: “The eastern direction. Another two down – a Su-34 fighter-bomber and a Su-35S fighter! This is our land and our sky! Thank you all for your hard work! To be continued!”
The planes had earlier targeted Ukrainian troop positions with guided aerial bombs.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Feb. 18, a video circulated on social media showing an aircraft, reported to be a Russian Su-34, crashing in the Luhansk region. Oleshchuk confirmed that Ukrainian defenders had “brought down” another Russian Su-34 fighter bomber.
On Saturday, Feb. 17, Ukrainian forces reportedly shot down three Russian fighter aircraft—two Su-34s and one Su-35—over the Donetsk Region.
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Comments (4)
So many Russian Su 34 jets Ukraine is shooting down in just One Month!!!
Always downing jets in social media though and No evidence of downed Russian aircraft. Its only a Ukrainian FANTASY.
Can any fighters / bombers whose fuselage is still mostly intact be exported?
There are a lot of dated children's playgrounds in the west, and with a good cleaning and a few safety mods these would be great fun for the kids to play in. There are always talented volunteers in each town looking to donate their time / skills to improve their communities.
Maybe the russian tank shells make more sense for this use.
Remember Russia.... this is for children so please donate freely.
again, it was "friendly" fire?
I have said it for three weeks now There is an F-16 lurking about that has downed all or most of these Ruskie aircraft.
@Imokru2, I suspect not. The F-16 is not a stealth aircraft. If it were there, Russian radar would have identified it and Putin's puppets would have made their usual threats to go nuclear.
@Imokru2, I doubt that. They may just be getting a little more daring with their patriot batteries and bringing them closer to the front lines to knock out russian aviation since the fab 500 bombs are so devastating to their troops and civilians. I've also read that they may be using S-200 missles, which are enormous and have a pretty long range. I know they were yeeting them at russian forces in a ground attack role a while back. From what I've heard, they have a limited supply of them though that are left over from the ussr days. I think you'll know when F-16's enter the war.