Ukrainian armed forces forces announced today that the air force destroyed a Russian Beriev A-50 reconnaissance aircraft and an Ilyushin Il-22 aerial command aircraft in the Sea of ​​Azov region in an operation that could delay some Russian missile attacks.

Kiev did not disclose how it hit these advanced aircraft.

The Sea of ​​Azov it is about 100 kilometers from the territories held by Kyiv.

The Russian Defense Ministry had no immediate comment.

Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzny, who announced the strikes on the Telegram app, posted video of an aircraft with a map suggesting they were struck over the Sea of ​​Azov, which lies east of the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Reuters was unable to independently verify his statements.

Hours after the remarks, Zaluzni, a Russian military blog, posted a picture of the shattered tail section of an Il-22 lying on the tarmac and praised the crew as “real heroes”.

The A-50, which first entered service around the end of the Soviet era, is a large early warning and control aircraft that can scan an area of ​​several hundred kilometers for enemy aircraft, ships and missiles.

Natalya Khomenikuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern military command, said during a briefing that Russia was using the aircraft extensively to prepare and conduct long-range missile strikes in Ukraine.

“We expect such a hit (on the A-50) to be quite painful and at least delay powerful missile strikes“, she said.

Some Russian military bloggers reported that the downing of the A-50 would be a huge loss for Russia’s air force, given that there were a limited number of aircraft in service.

“It will be another dark day for the Aerospace Forces and Air Defensewrote Ribar, a blogger with about 1.2 million followers who supports and comments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“There are not many A-50s. And experts who handle them are rare. If an aircraft of this type is hit, its crew cannot escape,” he wrote.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine estimates the value of the A-50 aircraft at 330 million dollars.

It is unclear how many A-50 aircraft Russia has in service.

The IISS, a London-based think tank said in a 2021 report that Russia has nine operational A-50 aircraft, including four modernized A-50Us.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced early last year that modernized A-50U aircraft have carried out missions during the war in Ukraine.

The A-50 aircraft, designated Mainstay in NATO, can simultaneously track more than 300 targets, it is reported. It can detect and track a missile launch at a distance of 800 km, and land and sea targets at a distance of 300 km