Russia lost the highest number of aircraft in a day since the Ukraine war began; two MiG-31s and six Su-25 were downed

Ukraine has destroyed several Russian jets in little over a week, according to reports from Kyiv’s military, Ukrainian media and Russian sources.

On May 23, 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, particularly the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, reported shooting down multiple Russian Su-25 jets across different regions. This event is part of the ongoing conflict in the region, with reports suggesting a significant impact on Russian air capabilities.

Since May 14, Ukraine has likely destroyed Su-25 Russian aircraft of various types, including two MiG-31 and six Su-25 jets, reports from Ukraine’s armed forces, domestic outlets, Russian independent media and satellite imagery suggest.

Late on Wednesday, Ukraine’s General Staff said its fighters had destroyed a Russian Su-25 jet in fighting close to the Donetsk city of Pokrovsk. Ukraine and Western sources have said fighting on the eastern front lines, including east to Pokrovsk, is blazing on despite Russia’s offensive on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region. Pokrovsk sits west of the former Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka, captured by Russia in February, and is a hotspot of clashes.

Over the weekend, Ukraine’s SBU security service damaged a Russian Su-27 jet during an attack on Russia’s Kushchyovskaya air base, independent Russian outlet Astra reported. Kushchyovskaya is in Russia’s Krasnodar region, and has been host to several different types of Russian jets used to attack Ukraine.

Separately, on Saturday, Ukraine’s 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, fighting on the eastern front, said its fighters had shot down a Russian Su-25.

Ukraine launched consecutive strikes on a Russian air base close to the Crimean port city of Sevastopol between the night of May 14 and the morning of May 16.

Satellite imagery published by U.S. space technology company Maxar appeared to show that two MiG-31 jets and one Su-27 had been destroyed at the Belbek airfield. The New York Times journalist Christiaan Triebert said another aircraft, a MiG-29, was also damaged, sharing the images on social media.

Publishing updated statistics on Thursday, Ukraine’s military said Russia has lost a total of 355 aircraft since the start of full-scale war in February 2022.

Russia rarely nods to its own losses at Ukraine’s hands and said in statements last week that it had intercepted 15 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) long-range missiles over Crimea over two days. The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, identified the Belbek airfield as a target of Ukrainian attacks.

Kyiv has upped its attacks on Crimea, the peninsula to the south of mainland Ukraine that Moscow has controlled for a decade. Kyiv has vowed to reclaim the territory and frequently targets military installations such as the Belbek air base.

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