Kiev [Ukraine], January 16: Ukraine has reportedly shot down two strategically important Russian military aircraft.
An A-50 early warning reconnaissance aircraft and an Il-22M flying command centre were hit, the deputy head of the Committee for National Security, Defence and Intelligence in the Ukrainian parliament, Yuri Mysyagin, wrote on his Telegram channel on Monday.
Local media reported on the downing of the aircraft during the night. There has been no official confirmation from Moscow.
According to the media reports, the A-50 disappeared from the radar after being hit over the south-eastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhya.
The Il-22M11 - a modernized version of the Il-22M - is said to have been hit over the Sea of Azov and made an emergency landing in the southern Russian city of Anapa. The pilot requested ambulances to the landing site, reported RBC-Ukraine, citing allegedly intercepted radio messages.
The Ukrainian General Staff did not report the downing in its situation report on Monday morning.
However, Air Force Chief Mykola Oleshchuk posted an aeroplane and a fire sign with the caption: "You get this for Dnipro! Burn in Hell." A year ago, on January 14, 2023, dozens of people were killed when a Russian missile hit a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi later wrote that both aircraft had been destroyed by the Ukrainian air force.
Russian military bloggers speculated whether the country's own air defence system was responsible for shooting down the aircraft. There have been several such cases in the past two years, the influential military blogger Rybar wrote.
If the losses are confirmed, this would be a bitter blow for the Russian air force, as the two aircraft are equipped with expensive specialized equipment and were only produced in small numbers.
According to reports, the Russian armed forces only have just under a dozen A-50s and around the same number of Il-22Ms. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune