Strana 28
UKRAINE
historic city center. In one home, a Kinzhal
missile killed seven people, including three
young children. In Poltava, an Iskander missile
strike hit a military academy where Ukrainian
forces had unfortunately gathered a large
number of personnel, resulting in 59 deaths
and 329 injuries. Meanwhile, Ukraine struck
several large Russian ammunition depots.
In a notable incident, Russia itself contributed
to a massive explosion—during a test launch at
the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, an RS-28 Sarmat
intercontinental ballistic missile exploded,
leaving a crater over 60 meters in diameter.
October 2024
Russia unintentionally provided Ukraine
and its Western allies with a gift—the newest
Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik combat drone.
The aircraft escorted the Su-57 Fighter
but lost control.As it approached the front
line, the fighter shot it down with a missile.
However, the debris fell on the other side of the
line and was recovered by Ukrainian soldiers.
Additionally, Russian aviation lost five aircraft
and one helicopter this month. On the Ukrainian
side, photos of a downed MiG-29AS fighter,
previously delivered from Slovakia, surfaced.
It was likely an aircraft with the original Slovak
number 2123.
November 2024
Ukraine received permission to use long-
range ATACMS missiles against targets on
Russian territory. However, Ukraine had only
a few of these missiles, and the permission
came too late. In retaliation, Russia
demonstrated its strength by using a prototype
of the new medium-range ballistic missile
"Oreshnik." It hit an industrial facility in Dnipro
but did not cause significant damage.
December 2024
Russian air defense shot down an Embraer
190AR civilian aircraft belonging to Azerbaijan
Airlines, which was flying from Baku to Grozny.
A missile exploded near its tail, damaging the
hydraulic system. Despite the crew's struggles
to control the aircraft, Russian air traffic
controllers refused to allow it to land at other
airports and redirected it over the Caspian
Sea to Kazakhstan. The crew barely managed
to keep it in the air, but during an attempt to
land in Aktau, the aircraft crashed. Of the
67 people on board, 38 did not survive, including
both pilots. Russia has so far refused to take
responsibility.
From the Ukrainian side, the first confirmed
downing of an aircraft using naval drones
occurred. Ukraine mounted R-73 missiles on
Magura V5 boats and shot down two Russian
Mi-8 helicopters on the last day of the year.
Each helicopter had an eight-member crew,
and no one survived the shootdown.
January 2025
Following the inauguration of President
Trump, the United States began shifting its
stance away from Ukraine and towards Putin’s
regime. Not much happened in the air (apart
from nightly Russian drone and missile attacks),
but several older losses were confirmed by
court rulings, particularly on the Russian side.
February 2025
Good News First. Ukraine received its first
Mirage 2000 aircraft from France. These are
Mirage 2000-5F variants, originally designed
purely for air combat, developed from the
Mirage 2000C. The French Air Force had 37 of
these, with 26 remaining in service. It is unclear
how many Ukraine has received so far—reports
suggest three, with more to follow.
Ukraine's 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade released new footage of a well-known MiG-29 in black livery. The reason for this camouflage is unknown.
Older photos of the black MiG-29, still without the yellow-blue quick identification markings.
Its fuselage number remains unknown.
INFO Eduard28
April 2025