Russia has been dealt another blow as Ukrainian forces have successfully shot down two more warplanes and in total six Russian fighter aircraft have been neutralised in 72 hours.
On Monday morning a Su-34 and Su-35 fighter bombers were shot down in eastern Ukraine who had been targeting Kyiv’s forces with guided bombs.
The Su-34 fighter jet is one of Russia’s most expensive costing around $36 million each and in total Ukraine has shot down 335 Russian aircraft since the war started.
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The Kyiv Post reported that Lieutenant General Nikolai Oleshchuk, commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said, “The eastern direction. Another two down: the Su-34 fighter-bomber and the Su-35S fighter!
“This is our land, and our sky! Thank you all for your hard work! To be continued!”
The adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryushchenko confirmed to the Kyiv Post of the warplanes crashing.
Andryushchenko said, “Our people heard two explosions in the city, with the epicenter in the Primorsky district, at approximately 9:16 a.m. by Kyiv time.
“And the burning plane began to fall in the area of the village of Rybatske.”
⚡️A 🇷🇺Russian Su-34 bomber was shot down yesterday near the village of Dyakove, Luhansk region. pic.twitter.com/gCaiEntomF
— 🇺🇦Ukrainian Front (@front_ukrainian) February 18, 2024
He added that this happened due to our very attentive and trained people,” he clarified that the crash could be a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
He said, “Russians are silent. They trying to ‘clean’ comments until we informed everyone. The area where the plane fell is already a restricted area.
“The Russians partially turned off the Internet in the Primorsky District, probably to prevent spreading an information about search operations.”
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) said that in 72 hours they have shot down six warplanes and on Sunday morning a video emerged of a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber crashing and then exploding.
According to Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Forces of the AFU, cited by the RBC Ukraine news outlet, AFU “brought down” another Russian fighter jet on Monday morning.
“The Muscovites have ‘no losses’ again. Around 6:00 this morning, another Su-34 ‘successfully returned’ to base,” Oleshchuk wrote, adding that this happened on the eastern front.”