Zaluzhny confirms destruction of enemy A-50 and Il-22 by Ukrainian Air Force and thanks for the operation

On the evening of January 14, theAir Force of Ukraine destroyed a Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft. In addition, the defenders "grounded" the airborne control center of the Il-22 of the Russian Armed Forces forever.

The operation was conducted in the Azov Sea region. This information was confirmed on January 15 by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny, who published a video fragment of the scheme of objective control over the flights of enemy aircraft.

"I am grateful to the Air Force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in the Azov Sea region. Glory to Ukraine!" the general emphasized.

The Ukrainian Air Force also added that the special operation of the Ukrainian defenders was successful and promised: "To be continued".

The Telegram channel "Nikolaevsky Vanek" noted a very fat "catch" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is emphasized that in addition to the boards themselves, our soldiers apparently also took out a lot of manpower from the Russian Armed Forces. After all, the A-50 crew usually consists of five people, and the tactical crew - 10 people.

"I'm not even talking about the IL-22, how many people it can hold. It's very fat," the statement said.

On the evening of January 14, it was reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had shot down an A-50 reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Azov and damaged an IL-22 bomber of the Russian military. After the news broke, on the morning of January 15, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, made an interesting allusion with the words: "This is for you for Dnipro!". It should be noted that the day before was the anniversary of the tragic day of January 14, 2023, when Russia launched a missile attack on a house in Dnipro, taking the lives of 46 civilian Ukrainians.

According to the new data, since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine's defenders have already destroyed 331 Russian army aircraft.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, the A-50 airborne surveillance aircraft is very valuable for the Russian army. For the occupiers, it works as a corrector during massive shelling of Ukraine and costs at least $330 million.

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