Ukraine shoots down $560 million Russian spy plane

Ukraine’s military chief is claiming that the Ukrainian air force has shot down a Russian Beriev A-50 early warning and control plane and an IL-22 command centre aircraft. Photo / AP

Ukrainian forces have destroyed a US$350 million (NZ$560m) Russian spy plane and badly damaged a second in a significant blow to Moscow’s air power.

The Russian Beriev A-50 long-range surveillance aircraft was shot down as it patrolled the Sea of Azov region late last week, while the Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post was forced into an emergency landing, Ukrainian sources said.

“The A-50 was shot down and it exploded,” Major General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, told the Financial Times.

“The Il-22 was badly damaged but, unfortunately for us, it managed to make an emergency landing in Anapa [a Russian town on the Black Sea coast],” he added.

General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, had earlier said both aircraft had been “destroyed” in response to weekend reports of the strikes.

He shared a clip from a radar that appeared to show two planes disappearing over the water.

“I am grateful to the air force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in the Azov Sea region,” the army chief added.

Moscow has not commented on the claims.

But the loss of the A-50 was confirmed by Fighterbomber, a prominent Russian military blogger with links to the country’s air force.

The pro-war Telegram channel shared an image on the social media platform of what it said was the damaged Il-22′s wing and rear after a strike.

‘The wreck is beyond repair’

“But as you can see, the wreck is beyond repair,” said Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian air force.

The Soviet-designed A-50, known as the “flying radar” and codenamed “Mainstay” by Nato, is an early-warning and control system used by Moscow to hunt down Ukrainian jets and missiles from up to 400 miles away.

The four-engined aircraft, which carries a crew of 15, can also use its rotating radar to detect ground targets for up to 186 miles.

British intelligence officials late last year said Moscow was likely upgrading its fleet in anticipation for the arrivals of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

Any losses of the £235 million aircraft are seen as “significant because Russia has a limited number of them”, according to Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Russia was understood to have nine of the spy planes, but one was damaged in March last year when Ukrainian saboteurs attacked it with drones while it was parked at an airfield in Machulishchi, Belarus.

“There’s just eight A-50s in good condition,” Major Gen Budanov said.

Some Russian military bloggers suggested the A-50 could have been downed by the Kremlin’s own air defences in a “friendly fire” incident, which have become increasingly common.

Ukraine aircraft attacks ‘seemed to be impossible’

A Ukrainian APC fires towards Russian positions. Photo / AP

Ukraine’s successful attacks had long “seemed to be impossible”, its air force spokesperson has said.

Commenting on a new photograph showing the heavily-damaged Il-22 at an air base after being attacked, Ihnat wrote on Facebook: “The target is destroyed, resuscitation will not help!”

He added: “The long-range radar detection aircraft A-50 was and is a priority target for us. And until today, the destruction of this aircraft seemed an impossible task for the air force.

“And then the Il-22 [air command post] was also targeted! Two ‘fat’ targets at once!”

Ihnat said there were “wounded among the crew”.

Nato distances itself from leaked German wargame document

Nato has distanced itself from a German army wargame document leaked to the newspaper Bild that outlined how a war with Russia could begin.

Janis Sarts, Nato communications director, said: ”Bild received a training scenario, which always represents an imaginary situation to test military capabilities in a particular area.

“Previously, scenarios were completely fictitious, with non-existent countries and geographic areas. Now existing countries and geographies are more applicable.

“This is not secret intelligence analysis predicting how a situation will develop.”