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unit’s ability to carry out planned air operati-
ons due to the lack of a reserve aircraft.
Erlich was sentenced to one year in prison,
suspended for one and a half years. He was
also ordered to pay the ministry 10 million
rubles (about $113,000). Erlich appealed the
ruling, requesting that the financial penalty
be reduced to 300,000 rubles ($3,400), but the
appellate court upheld the original verdict.
Life Sentence for "Terrorism"
In another case, a Russian court ruled that
evidence collected by the Main Military Investi-
gative Directorate of the Russian Investigative
Committee was sufficient to charge Colonel
Mykola Dziaman, commander of the 138th An-
ti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Ukrainian Ar-
med Forces, with terrorism. An arrest warrant
was issued against him in the summer of 2024.
His brigade had shot down a Russian Beriev
A-50U airborne early warning and control air-
craft on February 23, 2024. The plane crashed
in Russia’s Krasnodar region near the village of
Trudovaya Armeniya, killing all 10 crew mem-
bers.
According to the Russian indictment, Dzia-
man committed an act of terrorism by knowin-
gly targeting an unarmed A-50 aircraft flying
over Russian territory that was not directly en-
gaged in combat operations in Ukraine. Despi-
te this, he allegedly ordered his troops to fire
Patriot missiles at the aircraft. As a result, he
was sentenced to life in prison in absentia.
The court verdict confirmed several things.
First, it provided official acknowledgment that
Ukraine had indeed shot down the A-50, con-
tradicting earlier Russian propaganda claims
that Ukraine lacked the capability to do so.
Previously, Moscow had suggested the aircraft
was mistakenly hit by Russian air defense. Se-
cond, labeling the attack as "terrorism" highli-
ghts the hypocrisy of Russian rhetoric—A-50
aircraft were being used to coordinate Russian
airstrikes on Ukrainian targets, including civi-
lian infrastructure. Yet, according to the Russi-
an court, Ukraine's defensive actions amoun-
ted to terrorism.
Notably, this was the second A-50 aircraft
Russia lost in the same region. The first was
shot down over the Sea of Azov on January 14,
2024, also killing its entire crew. These highly
specialized personnel are irreplaceable. Fur-
thermore, these two aircraft are the only ai-
rborne early warning and control planes ever
destroyed in combat operations in global mili-
tary aviation history. Both belonged to Russia,
and both were downed by Ukraine.
UKRAINE
Wreckage of the Russian Beriev A-50U airplane, which was shot down on February 23, 2024. A Russian court
has now sentenced for „terrorism“ (in absentia) the commander of the Ukrainian unit that had hit it with a Patriot
missile.
According to Russian authorities, this is not terrorism. During a Russian attack during the night of January 27-28,
even such a "military target" as the automobile museum in Kyiv was hit. Nine vintage cars were destroyed,
and another 27 were damaged.
INFO Eduard26
March 2025