Map reveals Ukrainian strikes on 30 Russian aircraft this year

More than 30 Russian aircraft have been damaged or destroyed this year, according to Ukraine’s armed forces, which released a map showing where the strikes occurred.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Center for Strategic Communications said on Telegram that its graphic showed for the first time the locations of its strikes on Russian fighter jets on the front line.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to effectively destroy Russian combat aircraft, including with the use of Western weapons,” the Ukrainian StratCom said in the post before listing the aircraft it said were struck.

The organization’s map showed that most of the strikes occurred in occupied eastern Ukraine, toward the southern front by the Zaporizhzhia region and Crimea. It also showed strikes over the Sea of Azov and two within Russia.

The aircraft that were hit included nine Sukhoi (Su-25s), one Su-57, one Su-35, one Su-35S, about 13 Su-34s and two Mikoyan (MiG-31s), the Ukrainian StratCom said.

The post also said it struck two Beriev A-50 early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, an Ilyushin Il-22M11 jet-engine bomber and a Tupolev (Tu-22M3) long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber.

The update did not specify which strikes were air defense interceptions of Russian aircraft and which were strikes against Russian aircraft at airfields.

“Some of the planes were damaged, but could return to airfields for long-term repairs,” Ukraine’s StratCom said, adding that in some cases, “it was impossible to reliably establish the models of the destroyed aircraft.” It also said its list would be updated.

In February, Russian officials said an A-50 had been downed, and the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, D.C., think tank, said that in May, satellite imagery indicated that Ukrainian forces had destroyed two MiG-31s in Crimea in an ATACMS strike.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment by email.

In February and March, Ukrainian officials reported the downing of numerous Su-34 aircraft, although the ISW said it could not independently verify these claims. Ukraine’s officials said that in May, its 110th Mechanized Brigade had downed several Russian Su-25 jets in the Donetsk region.

The spate of downed Russian aircraft, in particular the A-50 and Il-22, had previously hampered Russian aviation over Ukraine, the ISW said in a June 28 assessment, “but Ukrainian forces have yet to be able to significantly attempt to contest the air domain.”

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly appealed to its allies for extra air defense capabilities and advanced fighter aircraft, such as the F-16s, a batch of which is due to arrive this summer.