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The pilot ejected, and he was rescued by
a Mi-24 helicopter crew on a combat search
and rescue mission (CSAR). After successfully
rescuing the Su-35 pilot, the helicopter unit
took a group photo, essentially confirming the
downing of the Russian fighter jet.
The second Su-35 was shot down two days
later, on Monday, February 19th. This time,
it crashed into the Sea of Azov near the village
of Rybacke, south of Mariupol. It was piloted
by Captain Fedor Graboveckyi. Although he
managed to successfully eject from the falling
aircraft, he died in the cold water before
rescue helicopters could reach him.
Another A-50
During this reporting period, in addition to
fighters and fighter-bombers, the Ukrainian air
defense was also successful in shooting down
another airborne early warning and control
aircraft, a Beriev A-50. Its demise on Friday,
February 23, was captured by several videos.
In one of them, the aircraft is seen descending
and releasing decoy targets, with two missiles
aiming at it. One missile managed to divert
away and exploded far behind the aircraft.
However, the second missile hit it, causing the
aircraft to fall in flames. Subsequent videos
showed a strong fire after the crash and the
detached tail of the aircraft on the ground,
confirming its identity immediately.
The A-50 crashed near the village of
Trudovaya Armenia on the Russian side of the
Sea of Azov, more than 200 km from the nearest
Ukrainian positions. The Ukrainian secret
service stated that it was shot down with the
help of a modified S-200 missile. After the first
A-50 was shot down in January, these Russian
aircraft began to move further away from the
front line. Ukrainians therefore sought ways to
successfully target them. Although old S-200
missiles had been retired, some versions of
this missile have a range of up to 300 km.
The downed A-50 had the designation
RF-50610 and the fuselage number "red 42".
It belonged to the 610th Center for Combat
Training and Retraining of Air Personnel. There
were at least 10 crew members on board, but
none of them survived. Among them were
Major Valeriy Borovikov, Major Alexander
Ruluk, Captain Alexander Provalov, Lieutenant
Valeriy Telmanov, and Sergeant Dmitry
Khrulev. For Russia, this is a significant loss
because it is not easy to manufacture such an
aircraft, and its crew consisted of specialists
with years of training that cannot be replaced.
Ukrainian Losses
Moving the air defense closer to the front
line carries increased risks, and Ukrainians
paid dearly for it. During the period under
review, they lost an S-300 battery, and on
February 26, the first NASAMS launch device
was destroyed in the Zaporizhzhia region.
During the period under review, Ukraine
demonstrably lost two aircraft. Firstly, on
Wednesday, February 7, a Su-25 from the 299th
Tactical Aviation Brigade was destroyed during
a combat flight. Its pilot, Major Vladyslav
Rykov, was killed. He was most likely shot
down by an R-37 missile fired from a Russian
Su-35 fighter.
On Tuesday, February 13, a Mi-17V-5
helicopter of the Ukrainian Army Aviation
was shot down in the Robotyne area of the
Zaporizhzhia region. Two crew members
were killed (one of them was named Vadim
Pokatajev), and a third crew member was
critically injured.
Additionally, the death of a Russian pilot,
Captain Maxim Kuzminov, who defected to the
Ukrainian side, may be mentioned. On August
9, he defected to the Ukrainian side with
a Mi-8AMTŠ helicopter marked RF-04428 and
fuselage number "red 62". Two other crew
members had no idea about his intention to
defect and were shot after landing. Kuzminov
was labeled a traitor in Russia, and intelligence
services sentenced him to death. In Ukraine,
he received half a million dollars and three
options to choose from: to fight for Ukraine, to
stay in Ukraine as a civilian, or to live abroad.
Kuzminov chose the last option and settled
in Spain. However, he violated the rules of
secrecy when he contacted his girlfriend. This
likely led to his location being traced, and he
was shot. By the way, during the period under
review, the identities of the remaining two
On February 7th, Major Vladyslav Rykov from the 299th
Tactical Aviation Brigade perished in a shot down
Ukrainian Su-25.
One of the confirmed casualties of the shot down
Mi-17V-5 is Vadim Pokatayev.
On February 17, near Robotyne, a Ukrainian Mi-17V-5 helicopter was shot down and two crew members were killed.
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