Ukraine claims to have dealt a heavy blow to the Russian air force. Away from the front line, a spy plane and an aviation command center were reportedly shot down last night, both very expensive aircraft. Reports from the Russian side seem to support this claim.

“There definitely is something “It happens in the air,” says Peter Wijniega of the Hague Center for Strategic Studies, a former air force colonel. “But I dare not say exactly what it is.”

During the night, the first reports of downed planes came. The Ukrainian Air Force reported this at X this morning. “Who would have done this?” It can be read in a message from the armed forces unit.

Commander-in-Chief Zalochny congratulated the troops on the “excellently planned and executed operation in the Azov region.” According to him, it concerns a Beriev A-50 detection aircraft and an Il-22 air checkpoint.

The Beriev A-50 is known as Russia’s AWACS. Like its NATO counterpart, the aircraft was equipped with a distinctive radar mount on top of the fuselage, allowing enemy maneuvers to be monitored far behind the lines.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense says the planes are worth $330 million. Russia has that According to aviation media Only fifteen of them.

In addition, an Ilyushin-22M11 was said to have crashed. Russia is said to have thirty aviation command centers. They are used to coordinate air attacks and repel counterattacks.

“This is a sensitive loss for the Russians,” Wijninga says. “They use that group of A-50s to monitor the airspace: flying over the occupied territories, they can see 400 kilometers deep into Ukraine. The Il-22 also performs an important function, but it is not as essential as the A-50.”

Communications with air traffic control broadcast by the Ukrainian channel RBC indicate that the Ilyushin-22 plane made an emergency landing at the air base in Anapa, southern Russia. The pilot asked firefighters and ambulances to be ready. The extent of the damage was not known.

There are no reports that the A-50 has reached the base, but a Russian fighter pilot reported seeing something burning as it crashed into the sea. The plane usually has a crew of 15 people.

Moscow has not yet responded to these allegations. Russia is generally reluctant to report its losses.

No details were revealed about how the planes were shot down. If true, it would be a great achievement: the planes are said to have flown over the Sea of ​​Azov, which is entirely in Russian hands.

It is unclear how Ukraine struck that area, more than 150 kilometers from the front line. For example, this distance exceeds the range of the “mixed bag” of anti-aircraft missiles that Ukraine can deploy. Wijninga lists them: Patriots, IRIS-T, HAWK and Nasams, all intended for short distances.

However, photos of the damaged Ilyushin plane point to the city of Wijninga He saw passing Regarding the use of air defense missiles: the tail appears to have been clearly damaged by the iron masses deployed by such a projectile. “But if an Ilyushin plane is hit near Berdyansk as reported, that is a place no Ukrainian air defense can reach. Their planes do not risk flying that far over the occupied territories.”

Military bloggers from Russia also reported the loss. They wonder if it could be friendly fire. Wijninga believes this is possible. The Russians have often made mistakes in air defence, just think of the MH17 disaster in 2014. “But that means the regime shot at its plane twice, and that is also unlikely.”

Another option he raises is the active revolutionaries in Berdyansk. “But they must have a fairly heavy air defense system. That’s also unlikely.”

“We may never be able to find out who was responsible for the death of the crew,” the Russian Fighter-Bomber channel wrote. “I hope that the dead have an eternal journey, and that the wounded recover quickly and return to active duty.”

Wijninga points out that the action fits perfectly into Ukrainian attack plans. “They aim to make Crimea unusable for the Russian Armed Forces. They are doing this through attacks on supply lines across the bridges into Russia, the launch facilities there and the ports, as was the case a few weeks ago. I have noticed that their focus is in the south.” “

Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Oleshchuk confirms this Victorious image On a telegram from shore after success. “The Sea of ​​Azov is cleaner than ever.”