KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces downed a Russian early warning and control aircraft Friday, the air force chief said, a major win for the country as its army fights to repel persistent Russian attacks along the front line as the war enters its third year.
Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk thanked Ukraine’s military intelligence for helping down the Russian A-50 aircraft on Russia’s military holiday Friday. “Congratulations to the occupiers on the Defender of the Fatherland day,” Oleshchuk said on a sardonic note.
Ukrainian media carried footage purportedly showing a massive fire that erupted when the big warplane crashed in the Krasnodar region on the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov.
The Russian military didn’t comment on the Ukrainian claim, but emergency officials in the Krasnodar region reported that a plane crashed in the area without identifying it. Several Russian military bloggers confirmed the plane’s loss and some alleged that it was downed in a friendly fire incident.
If confirmed, the plane’s downing would mark the loss of the second such aircraft in just over a month. Ukrainian officials said the country’s military downed an A-50 over the Sea of Azov on Jan. 14. The Russian military never commented on the Ukrainian claim, but Russian bloggers and some media confirmed the aircraft’s loss.
The A-50, which is capable of spotting targets up to 650 kilometers (400 miles) away, is a key command center aircraft that relays…
