Strana 23
Training exercises involving Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters.
another MiG-29 inside the shelter was either
destroyed or damaged.
On the same day that the footage from
Voznesensk was released—June 27—
a Ukrainian MiG-29 was also lost during
a combat mission over the Poltava region. The
pilot successfully ejected.
Initially, very little information was available
about the incident. However, several sources,
including Ukrainian ones, later concluded that
the aircraft had been shot down by a Russian
Su-35 fighter.
The reported engagement occurred at an
exceptionally long range—potentially the
longest air-to-air kill in history if confirmed.
The Russian R-37M missile is said to have
struck the Ukrainian fighter at a distance of
190 kilometers (118 miles).
The Ukrainian publication Defence Express
notes that reports of Ukrainian aircraft being
shot down by R-37M missiles at long range
have existed since 2022, with some claims
suggesting distances exceeding 200 kilometers,
although those reports have never been
confirmed. The Su-35 itself cannot achieve
such an engagement using only its onboard
radar, whose detection range is shorter than
the missile‘s maximum range. According to
Defence Express, the aircraft therefore relied
on targeting data provided either by an A-50U
airborne early warning and control aircraft or
by ground-based air-defense radars.
More recently, Su-57 fighters have also
served as „mini-AWACS“ platforms for
Su-35s because they carry more powerful
radar systems.
Which of these methods was used in this
particular long-range engagement against the
Ukrainian MiG-29 remains unknown.
The final Ukrainian aviation loss occurred on
Tuesday, June 30, when a Mi-8 helicopter from
the 16th Independent Army Aviation Brigade
crashed near the village of Starytskivka in the
Poltava region.
The helicopter was conducting a combat
mission against Russian drones.
All four crew members were killed:
Major Valentyn Mukshinov,
Captain Yurii Voron,
First Lieutenant Bohdan Khmil
Junior Sergeant Mykhailo Deryaha
A Ukrainian MiG-29 burning at Voznesensk Air Base.
AIR WAR IN UKRAINE
INFO Eduard
23
August 2026