Strana 29
but in 2020 reports emerged of new laser
weapon development and testing, accompanied
by fresh flight footage of the aircraft. In July
2021, however, it was definitively grounded at
the location where it was now destroyed.
Just a few meters away stood the A-100LL,
registration RF-93953, tail number “Red
52,” which had been parked since December
2023. The “LL” designation stands for Flying
Laboratory. This aircraft was intended to
test electronic systems for the successor to
the A-50 airborne early warning and control
aircraft. A true A-100 prototype was later built,
after which the A-100LL was parked, although
it is likely that ground tests continued.
In both cases, these were unique aircraft that
had largely already fulfilled their purpose and
had been parked long-term. Their destruction
therefore made sense primarily for propaganda
purposes, boosting the prestige of Ukrainian
drone units. From a military standpoint, the
significance was limited. It is likely that the
main target was the Beriev production hall, and
the aircraft were destroyed simply because
they had not moved for a long time. Their fixed
coordinates allowed long-range drones to be
dispatched with confidence that the targets
would not relocate. In such deep strikes inside
Russian territory, Ukrainians cannot remotely
control drones and instead send them to
pre-programmed coordinates.
Attack on Ternopil
Russia continued its systematic attacks on
Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Among the
many air raids that occurred almost every
night, one stood out—the attack carried out
in the early Wednesday morning, 19th of
November. Russia launched 476 drones and
48 cruise missiles, primarily targeting western
Ukraine. The strike involved six Tu-95MS and
four Tu-160MS bombers, which launched
Kh-101 missiles. Ukrainian air defenses
destroyed 442 drones and 41 missiles.
It was these Kh-101 missiles from Russian
strategic bombers that penetrated the
Beriev A-100LL, photographed years ago on a Russian spotters’ website by a user named bonsai.
Footage from a Ukrainian FPV drone during an attack
on a Ka-27 helicopter in Crimea.
Satellite image of Taganrog-South Airfield from 2024. The Beriev A-60 (left inset)
and Beriev A-100LL (right inset) were already parked at that time.
Satellite image showing the destroyed aircraft after an attack.
Video still of the Beriev A-60 aircraft
explosion.
UKRAINE
INFO Eduard
29
January 2026