Ukraine claims it shot down 2 Russian command and control aircraft in a significant blow to Moscow
Ukraine’s military chief is claiming that the Ukrainian air force has shot down a Russian Beriev A-50 early warning and control plane and an IL-22 command center aircraft
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian air force shot down a Russian Beriev A-50 early warning and control plane and an IL-22 command center aircraft in a significant blow for the Kremlin’s forces, Ukraine’s military chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi claimed Monday.
The planes are key tools in helping orchestrate Russian battlefield movements. Shooting them down is a landmark feat for Ukraine in the almost two-year war, as fighting along the front line is largely bogged down in trench and artillery warfare.
Zaluzhnyi did not say how the aircraft were brought down, but Ukraine has received sophisticated modern air defense systems from its Western allies.
He also did not say where the interception occurred, though he attached a video to his social media post with an airplane tracker showing two targets disappearing above the Azov Sea, which lies between Ukraine and Russia, north of the Crimea Pensinsula and the Black Sea.
