Air War in Ukraine - Wish for something, the red stars are falling!
In the period covered by this part of the series, the Russian air force suffered some of the highest losses in the air, excluding the initial months of the invasion. Between December 1 and December 31, 2023, Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense shot down five to seven Russian aircraft, including one helicopter being taken out of service. Systematic attacks also continued in the occupied Crimea and the ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Unfortunately, at the end of the observed period, the Russians launched long-awaited winter missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
HISTORY
Miro Barič
Air War in Ukraine
Wish for something, the red stars are falling!
Czech self-propelled machine guns MR-2 Viktor caliber 14.5 mm have been in the Ukrainian service for a long time.
In the period covered by this part of the series, the Russian air force
suffered some of the highest losses in the air, excluding the initial
months of the invasion. Between December 1 and December 31, 2023,
Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense shot down five to seven Russian aircraft,
including one helicopter being taken out of service. Systematic attacks
also continued in the occupied Crimea and the ships of the Black Sea
Fleet. Unfortunately, at the end of the observed period, the Russians
launched long-awaited winter missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
The first Russian loss occurred on Tuesday,
December 5, when a Su-24M bomber attempted
to attack Odesa from the south. According to
some sources, it intended to launch missiles,
while others claim it carried gliding bombs with
a range of up to 70 km. Instead, it was shot down
by a Ukrainian missile in the area of Snake Island.
The Patriot system was likely used. Ukrainians
received two batteries in the spring of the previous
year, initially used for the defense of Kyiv, and one
battery was later transferred to Odesa in the fall.
At the end of last year, they were supposed to
receive a third battery from Germany, and it seems
they successfully used it not only in a defensive
mode, as we will later see.
Both pilots of the downed Su-24M, belonging
to the Russian naval aviation, were supposed to
eject, but they did not survive. Russians sent an
An-26 aircraft and an Mi-8 helicopter to search
for them, but the search was unsuccessful. On the
very next day, Wednesday, December 6, Russians
lost an Mi-8 helicopter. It landed in a field near
the village of Mankivka in the Svatove district of
the Luhansk region. It stayed on the ground long
enough for a Ukrainian drone to notice it and guide
the firing from the M142 HIMARS rocket launcher.
The rocket did not directly hit the helicopter but
exploded nearby, still causing the fuselage to be
pierced by fragments.
On Sunday, December 17, Russians lost a Su-25
attack aircraft. The location and circumstances
were not specified. The pilot, a lieutenant colonel
with the call sign Mason, lost his life. According to
some sources, he was shot down by his own Buk
M3 air defense system. According to other sources,
he was flying by instruments in very bad weather
and crashed after losing orientation. It is worth
noting that the Russian side does not officially
report its losses. However, the losses of pilots are
usually confirmed by sources on social networks,
such as the Telegram channel Fighterbomber.
Three Sukhois shot down at the same time
Black day for the Russian air force occurred
on Friday, December 22, when a group of Su-34
fighter-bombers fell into a deadly trap. Russian
aircraft regularly flew to bomb the Ukrainian
bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper and
artillery positions on the right bank of the river.
A similar situation occurred last May in northern
Ukraine when Russians regularly flew to bomb
Photos: Ukrainian
armed forces,
social media and other
public sources
INFO Eduard30
February 2024