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11 months ago
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UKRAINE scored a major war victory today in downing three Russians Su-34 bombers.
They were shot out of the sky near the Dnipro River, where Kyiv forces have secured a bridgehead on the eastern bank.
East2WestIt appears the warplanes – each costing £40 million – were downed by US Patriot missiles.
The loss is a major humiliation for Vladimir Putin, and recriminations had begun over the military tactics that left the warplanes vulnerable.
Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said that his soldiers had found a message reading “die, b****es” etched into shrapnel from a drone that was downed last night.
He posted his response on Telegram.
He said: “What a great idea! Here’s our answer.
“Today at noon on the southern front, three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers were downed!
“Eternal flight ‘brothers’.”
His spokesman Yuri Ignat called it “yet another brilliantly-planned operation to destroy the enemy on our doorstep…
“This time it was three planes at the same time in the southern direction.
“We didn’t have this for a long time.
“We didn’t have Su-34 [bombers] in our statistics for a long while.”
At least one Russian crew is believed to have ejected.
Russian military Telegram channel VDV called it a “dark day” for Putin’s air force.
“In the Kherson direction, we simultaneously lost three Su-34 aircraft,” said the channel.
“Condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.”
The strikes are believed to have been in the vicinity of Krynky village.
The outlet admitted that Ukraine had used the latest air defence systems in this area, and claimed warnings had not been heeded.
FlightBomber – another Russian war channel – admitted there were dead.
“We took everyone – the living and the dead,” it said, evidently referring to rescue missions.
“According to the preliminary information, it was Patriot.”
This is believed to refer to the American MIM-104 Patriot air defence system.
English (US)