Ukraine has claimed it downed a £274million Russian spy plane in a “perfectly planned and executed operation” over the Sea of Azov.
General Valery Zaluzhny, who serves as Commander-in-Chief of the ex-Soviet state’s armed forces, revealed an IL-22 was also taken out during the attack.
He said: “I am grateful to the Air Force for the excellently planned and conducted operation in Azov region!”
Zaluzhny later shared a video of the A-50 slowly coming down to earth, adding: “This is exactly what the last flight into the zone of no return looked like.”
Vladimir Putin reportedly had eight A-50s at his disposal
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He continued: “Warriors of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed an enemy long-range radar detection aircraft A-50 and an enemy air control centre IL-22.”
It was reportedly downed over the Sea of Azov yesterday.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander General Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on Telegram shortly after the incident: “This is for Dnipro! Burn in hell, you inhumans! PS No details yet.”
Senior politician Yuri Mysyagin, who serves as deputy head of Ukraine’s parliamentary national security committee, seemed to corroborate the account.
“At about 9pm [on Sunday], Ukrainian units fired at two aircraft of the Russian Air Force, namely an A-50 AWACS aircraft and an IL-22, located over the Sea of Azov,” he said.
“The A-50 was shot down, and the IL-22 was shot down, but was in the air and trying to get to the nearest airfield, but disappeared from the radar, after the descent began, in the Kerch area.”
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The incident took place in the Azov region
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The IL-22 reportedly returned to the small Russian town of Anapa.
The A-50 disappeared soon after going on patrol over the Kyrylivka area of Zaporizhzhia.
Vladimir Putin was believed to have only eight operational A-50s left at his disposal ahead of Sunday’s attack.
However, a briefing by the UK’s Ministry of Defence last year claimed it was “likely” Russia only had half a dozen operational A-50s in service.
It is not yet know what weapons were used by Kyiv to down the plane.
A Russian pilot was reportedly heard in intercepted communications telling commanders he witnessed the plane catch fire and fall from the sky.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander General Mykola Oleshchuk shared the news on Telegram
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A Belarus-based A-50 used by Russia was blown up in a partisan drone strike in February last year.
A Russian IL-22 was also taken out during the Wagner mercenary mutiny of June 2023.
The Kremlin refused to comment on the incident at a briefing with reporters.
Russian Military Informant channel stated: “The damaged Il-22 reached the [Anapa] airfield and landed, as evidenced by leaked intercepted conversations on an open frequency, but with the A-50, apparently, everything is much sadder.
“If the loss of the aircraft is confirmed, it will be a huge setback for domestic aviation since there are only a few such AWACS aircraft in service and are constantly in short supply at the front.”