List of high-quality authorsExecutive Summary:
Another A-50 airborne AWACS aircraft was shot down on Friday, and Russia lost eight military aircraft in a week. Russia claimed that the A-50 was mistakenly shot by the Russian army itself and denied being shot down by Ukraine. Whoever shoots it down means that Russia will lose control of the Ukrainian sky.
1. Another A-50 airborne early warning aircraft was shot down on Friday, and Russia lost eight military aircraft in a week.
On Saturday, Ukrainska Pravda reported that a Russian A-50U airborne AWACS aircraft was shot down on Friday, February 23. Sources in Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency said all 10 Russians on board the plane had been killed. Among them are five majors, three captains, a sergeant major and a lieutenant.
"According to UP***, the Russian A-50 long-range radar detector was shot down by the S-200 long-range anti-aircraft missile system," the Ukrainska Pravda message said. This is the second high-cost Russian military aircraft destroyed by Ukraine this year.
The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Lieutenant General Mykola Oreshchuk, in an article on the Telegram channel, also announced the shooting down of an A-50, saying that it was part of a joint operation between the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Air Force. And thanks to the military intelligence in Kyiv "and to all those who ensured the results."
Oleksandr Syrsky, who was recently appointed commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, posted on Facebook that "it is a great honor to destroy Russian aircraft and enemies."
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate also published the flight path of the downed Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft on Saturday.
On Saturday, Ukrainian military blogger Igor Sushko posted a ** crashed after the A-50 was shot down directly on platform X. According to the translator of **, the person who filmed ** said that a plane crashed "next door" and triggered a "big **" video capturing huge flames and billowing smoke from the crash site.
It is clear from this passage ** that the crew learned that a missile was coming towards them. They did what they could, until the plane crashed.
On Friday, Russia also lost 41 artillery systems, 35 APVs in Ukraine.
2. Russia** claimed that the A-50 was mistakenly shot by the Russian army itself and denied being shot down by Ukraine.
On Saturday, several Russian military bloggers also posted on Telegram channels and on platform X that an A-50 was shot down over the Sea of Azov late on Friday. However, unlike the Ukrainian military's claim that it shot down the jet spy plane, some Russian military bloggers said the plane was mistakenly shot down by "friendly fire."
Russian journalist Oleshchuk published a message on Russia's state-owned news **ria novosti claiming that an "unidentified plane" crashed in the Kanievsky region of southeastern Russia on the border with the Sea of Azov. "On February 23, 2024, it's A-50 again, and it's the same area again," the ** said. Not enemy missiles. The launch was carried out from the positions of friendly forces in the Mariupol area. ”
Soon after, Oleshchuk posted on Telegram. According to local**, there were planes crashed in the area and a fire broke out at the crash site.
Oleshchuk also shared on the Telegram channel a plane crash from a different angle than that of Ukrainian military blogger Igor Sushko, which shows flames burning somewhere in the distance.
Locals in the Kra Dar region shared footage on the Telegram channel of what may have been the wreckage of the downed A-50 aircraft. The woman mentioned that the wreckage of the plane fell in the Armenian village of Trudovaya in Russia's Kradar region, which is about 210 kilometers from the Ukrainian front line.
Third, no matter who shoots it down, it means that Russia will lose control of the Ukrainian sky.
This is the second Russian A-50 shot down by Ukraine since 2024.
Ukrainian officers also praised a Russian A-50 plane shot down in January, which was also allegedly destroyed by a Ukrainian missile over the Sea of Azov on January 14. The attack was also reported by several Russian military bloggers. At that time, another missile also destroyed a Russian Il-22M air command post military aircraft. At that time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that he "has no information about the shooting down of the Russian plane by the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
The Ukrainian military has claimed responsibility for a number of Russian planes that have been shot down in recent days. Kyiv forces shot down a Su-34 fighter-bomber from Moscow, the seventh Russian plane destroyed by Ukraine in a week, Oreshchuk said in a statement on Wednesday, February 21. If you add the A-50 on Friday, Ukraine has killed 8 Russian military planes in a week.
The Beriev A-50 is an airborne early warning and control jet used by Russia to help monitor Ukraine's air defenses. The aircraft is typically flown by up to 15 crew members and is estimated to cost more than $300 million to produce.
Russia's A-50s have been discontinued, and for every one shot down, Russia's few remaining A50s are permanently missing. Moreover, the crew may be difficult to replace, and the crew engaged in the operation of AWACS aircraft needs to be familiar with equipment and intelligence training for a long time.
It is estimated that the Russian army is armed with 9 A-50 airborne AWACS aircraft, and after 2 were shot down, there are 7 more.
But the shooting down of 2 AWACS aircraft in less than two months, as well as another 7 military aircraft, not only means that there are major flaws in the early warning function of the A-50, but also means that Russia will lose control of the sky over Ukraine and the Russian border with Ukraine, which will be very bad for Russian soldiers and the positions of the Russian army in Ukraine.
Especially before the F-16 fighter jets are about to be transferred to the Ukrainian army, the loss of two-in-nine A-50 airborne early warning aircraft means that the Russian Air Force is suffering heavy losses and will be vulnerable in the future.
And Putin also told the Russians a few weeks ago that the Russian air defense system is very safe. A safe air defense system will not only prevent the enemy from attacking itself, but it is also impossible to do stupid things about attacking itself. So even if the Russians prefer to say that they themselves shot down a $300 million airborne AWACS aircraft than admit that Ukraine did it, in fact, they cannot prove the safety of Russian air defenses. The Russian air defense system clearly has a fatal flaw in the poor performance of judging friend and foe.
Author: Xu Sanlang].