Ukraine announced on Monday that it had destroyed a Russian Beriev A-50 reconnaissance plane and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post in the Sea of Azov region, dealing a blow to Russian military operations in occupied southern Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian Air Force destroyed an enemy A-50 long-range radar detector and an enemy IL-22 air traffic control center,” Army Chief Valery Zarzhiny wrote on the messaging app Telegram.
“Thank you to the Air Force for perfectly planning and executing operations in the Sea of Azov region!”
Reuters could not independently verify this statement.
Russia's Ministry of Defense did not respond to a written request for comment.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense valued the A-50 aircraft at $330 million.
Kiev's statement did not say how the plane was destroyed.
The A-50, first put into service near the end of the Soviet era, is a large airborne early warning and control aircraft that can scan hundreds of kilometers for enemy aircraft, ships, and missiles.
Some Russian military bloggers said that the downing of this aircraft would be a huge loss for the Russian Air Force, as the number of aircraft deployed was limited.
“It will be another dark day for Russia's aerospace forces and air defense forces,” wrote Leiber, a blogger with about 1.2 million subscribers who supports and provides commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.
“There aren't that many A-50s. And the experts who operate them are generally rare. If this type of aircraft comes under attack, the crew cannot escape.”
It is unclear how many A-50s Russia has in its field.
London-based think tank IISS said in a 2021 report that Russia operates nine A-50 aircraft, including four modernized A-50U aircraft.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced early last year that the modernized A-50U was performing missions during the Ukraine war.
The aircraft, known by the NATO reporting name Mainstay, can detect more than 300 targets simultaneously.
It can detect missile launches at a distance of 800 km (497 miles) and detect and track targets on land and at sea up to 300 km (186 miles).
