Ukraine's Chief of General Staff confirms the shooting down of the Russian A-50 "magic eye"

Tổng Tham mưu trưởng Ukraine xác nhận vụ bắn hạ mắt thần A-50 Nga - 1 — A Russian Air Force A-50U (Photo: Wikimedia).

"The Ukrainian Air Force destroyed the enemy's A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and IL-22 airborne command aircraft. I would like to thank the air force for the flawless operation from planning to execution," General Zaluzhny wrote on Telegram on January 15.

Mr. Zaluzhny's post also included a video of the two planes' radar tracks.

On the same day, when asked to comment on the news that two Russian planes were shot down, the Kremlin said they had "no information".

"This is a matter related to the conduct of a special military operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring reporters to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet commented.

Earlier, RBC-Ukraine quoted an anonymous military source as saying that the two planes were attacked at around 9:00 p.m. on January 14 (local time). The A-50 is said to have disappeared from radar while flying over the northern shore of the Sea of Azov.

The Il-22M11 was hit on the east coast, near the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. According to RBC-Ukraine , the Il-22M11 requested an emergency landing in the city of Anapa in southern Russia.

With a value of 330-500 million USD depending on the version, the A-50 is an airborne early warning aircraft, with command and control capabilities, as well as the ability to track up to 60 targets at the same time.

Some Russian military bloggers believe that the A-50 being shot down would be a huge loss because the number of this type of aircraft still in operation is very limited.

“This will be another dark day for the Russian Aerospace Forces and Air Defense,” wrote Rybar, a blogger with nearly 1.2 million followers. “There are not many A-50s. The specialists who operate them are also very rare. If this model is hit, the crew will not be able to escape.”

According to the Kyiv Post , Russia only has nine A-50s. This type of aircraft usually keeps its distance from Ukrainian air defense systems, so the fact that Ukraine shot down an A-50 would be particularly notable if true.

Many hypotheses

Kiev has not yet revealed the weapon system used in the incident, but there is speculation that the Ukrainian Air Force may have used the Patriot air defense missile system provided by the West.

After the information spread, many people questioned why Ukrainian air defenses could attack targets beyond normal firing range.

Another theory is that the Ukrainian pilot carried out a secret attack with an air-to-air missile and then quickly returned to safe range.

According to the Kyiv Post , since sources say the A-50 was hit "immediately after takeoff", it is possible that Ukrainian guerrillas or special forces were close enough to be able to use a portable air defense system or other weapon.

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