Tuesday, February 28, 2023
On February 26, two explosions occurred in Belarus, as a result of which a Russian A-50U aircraft was significantly damaged at a military airfield near Minsk, Belarus. In total, the Russian Federation has nine planes of this type and only six with the U modification. Yuriy Ignat, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Armed Forces Air Force, explained that this plane was conducting radar reconnaissance, determining the location of Ukrainian air defense systems, and tracking the takeoff, landing, and Ukrainian aviation movements. This aircraft has always been utilized in cruise missile attacks on Ukraine. After the damage to the aircraft, Russia launched 14 kamikaze drones into Ukraine. Anti-aircraft defense destroyed 11 drones, with nine shot down around Kyiv alone, but two reached targets in Khmelnytskyi. In addition, the occupiers launched five missiles and 13 air strikes on Ukraine, and 50 artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure in the Kherson and Donetsk regions.
