Ukrainian forces destroyed three Russian Su-34s and one Su-35, said Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk.
  • The Ukrainian airforce says it shot down four Russian fighter jets this weekend.
  • On Saturday, the Ukraine airforce chief said two Su-34 and one Su-35 fighter jets were downed.
  • Another Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber was destroyed, on Sunday.
    • iturnedintoanewt@lemm.eeEnglish
      295·
      9 months ago

      Not really great news when you just lost a strategic town. I feel they are reporting every single kill, even the most minor ones, while underreporting the general state of things at a bigger level.

      • Milk_Sheikh@lemm.eeEnglish
        403·
        9 months ago

        Avdiikva is a big loss, but just like Bahkmut it was inevitable as long as Russia will throw away men and materiel into the meat grinder, whilst Ukraine values their soldiers lives

        They’ve made the Russians really pay for all their ‘big wins’ and ran a serious defense throughout, it was common to see 10+ Russian tanks and IFVs destroyed each day. The troop losses have been so numerous, that’s been hard to keep track of

      • Flag@kbin.social
        271·
        9 months ago

        Any single plane shot down isnt small. And they allegedly shot down 4. Not just that, pilots may also be lost, which is just as if not even worse of a loss for russia.

        • peopleproblems@lemmy.worldEnglish
          7·
          9 months ago

          At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the pilots they are putting in fighters aren’t experienced fighter pilots. Using Russia’s thinking, I would be retaining my experienced pilots to train non-military pilots how to get into a fighter, fly it and attack with it. Then when they are all dead, use my experienced pilots.

          • IphtashuFitz@lemmy.worldEnglish
            8·
            9 months ago

            Well it’s not like you can take a commercial airliner pilot, stick him in a fighter jet, and tell him to go drop bombs. While he may need less training he’d still require a significant amount of training before he could be expected to take on even relatively safe missions and return safely. It’s not like Su-34’s etc. roll off the assembly line quickly enough to regularly use them on kamikaze missions.

          • Flag@kbin.social
            4·
            9 months ago

            I read (sorry dont have a source) that russian fighter pilots fly commercial just to get flight hours, cause they dont get enough from the military. So uh… maybe a lot of them just didnt and maybe still dont have much experience at all. Or maybe they do now… those who still survive.

        • KevonLooney@lemm.eeEnglish
          4·
          9 months ago

          Last month, Business Insider’s Sinéad Baker wrote that Russia was strategically trying to bait Ukraine into using up its Patriot stocks to leave itself vulnerable.

          This is like the most idiotic strategy. It will take Ukraine a short amount of time to get more missiles. They are probably sending back every single MB of data from these Patriots to the US Army.

          The US hasn’t fought a country with actual jets in decades. This is priceless information for them and missiles are basically free.

          • quinkin@lemmy.worldEnglish
            5·
            9 months ago

            “You see, killbots Patriots have a preset kill limit. Knowing their weakness, I sent wave after wave of my own men planes at them until they reached their limit and shut down.” - Captain Zap Putin

      • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        7·
        9 months ago

        Russia was throwing away upwards of a thousand men per day for a pile of rubble town. Much more useful for domestic propaganda than military value.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    8·
    9 months ago

    I’m glad, but watch Republicans use this as an excuse to say this is why Ukraine doesn’t need U.S. support.

    Edit: Wow, I should have scrolled down. We already have someone saying that in the comments.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    31·
    9 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Footage circulating widely on social media was said to show the latest Russian fighter being shot down.

    Footage reported to be showing Russian Su-34 shot down by Ukrainian forces near Dyakove, Luhansk region.

    In December, Ukraine orchestrated a similar success story, with Ukrainian forces eliminating three Russian Su-34 fighter/bombers over two days.

    Last month, Business Insider’s Sinéad Baker wrote that Russia was strategically trying to bait Ukraine into using up its Patriot stocks to leave itself vulnerable.

    The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russia’s air superiority was key to capturing Avdiivka, the ‘gateway’ to Donetsk, launching hundreds of glide bombs in recent days to pummel Ukraine’s troops.

    Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said the only way Ukraine can combat glide bombs is by shooting down the Su-34 and Su-35 planes that them, reported the Kyiv Independent.

    The original article contains 382 words, the summary contains 141 words. Saved 63%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • s_s@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    9 months ago

    Su-34s are practically target practice at this point.