Russian forces have downed two Ukrainian warplanes in the past 24 hours, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Sunday.
The ministry identified one as a Su-25 close air support plane, which it said was shot down by Russian air defense not far from Dnepropetrovsk (known as Dnepr in Ukraine), some 150km north of the frontline. The other jet was a Su-27 fighter, downed not far from Krivoy Rog, about 140km west of Dnepropetrovsk, officials added.
The Russian military also said it had intercepted 14 missiles fired from US-supplied HIMARS and Soviet-era Uragan missile systems, as well as six Ukrainian anti-ship Neptune rockets. According to the statement, Russian forces have also destroyed 38 Ukrainian drones across the frontline over the past 24 hours.
In total, Russia has taken out 567 Ukrainian warplanes, 265 helicopters, and 10,526 drones since the start of the conflict in February 2022, the Defense Ministry claimed.
In October, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Moscow’s forces had received new military systems, which at the time allowed them to shoot down 24 Ukrainian planes in just five days. He did not provide further details.
However, TASS news agency later reported, citing sources, that Russia had used an S-400 Triumph air defense system, which has a range of up to 400 km. It was also said to have been equipped with active homing heads, and to have been operating in tandem with an A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft.