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Airfields Under Fire
From the beginning of the observed period,
Russia targeted Ukrainian airfields near the
front line. On Monday, July 1, multiple missiles
struck the Myrhorod base in the Poltava
region. Two Ukrainian Su-27 fighters were
destroyed, and four others were damaged. It is
unclear whether these were decommissioned
and grounded aircraft or operational ones.
However, at least some of them were likely in
operational condition.
The following day, Tuesday, July 2, a Russian
attack targeted a Mi-24 helicopter at a base
in Poltava. The helicopter was likely seriously
damaged by the explosion of cluster munitions.
On Wednesday, July 3, an Iskander-M ballistic
missile destroyed a MiG-29 at the Kryvyi Rih
base in the Dnipropetrovsk region. On the
same day, at the same airfield, Russians also
recorded a decoy in the form of a Su-25 mock-
up using a drone.
The next similar attack occurred on Monday,
July 29, when a Su-25 at the Kryvyi Rih base
was hit by a Lancet drone. This time, it likely
wasn’t a decoy.
In the air, Ukraine suffered three losses
during the observed period. On Tuesday, July 9,
a Mi-8 helicopter from the 12th Army Aviation
Brigade crashed between the villages of
Dyachkove and Mizhhirya in the Poltava region.
Russia claims to have shot down the aircraft.
All four crew members were killed: Captain
Yaroslav Lyubychenko, Captain Vitaliy Nekrasov,
First Lieutenant Oleksandr Shemchuk, and
Staff Sergeant Serhiy Potashenkov.
On Friday, July 19, another Ukrainian
Mi-8MSB
-
V helicopter with the tail number
"Black 160" was seriously damaged. The
helicopter overturned during an emergency
landing attempt in the Novoukrainka district of
the Kirovohrad region.
The third tragedy was unrelated to combat
operations. During a training flight on Saturday,
July 27, a Skyeton K-10 Swift with the registration
UR
-
KAI crashed. Yuriy Kapustenskyi, a first-
year cadet at the National Air Force University
in Kharkiv, died in the crash.
Russian Losses
During the observed period, the Russian
Air Force experienced another disastrous
week. However, before that, on Friday, July
5, a Russian Mi-28 helicopter was forced to
make an emergency landing in a field in the
Azov district of Russia's Rostov region. This
occurred during a massive Ukrainian drone
attack. According to various Russian sources,
the crew either wanted to avoid the drones
(and possibly avoid being hit by their own air
defenses) or the helicopter was directly hit by
a drone. The helicopter was likely damaged,
as the field caught fire after the emergency
landing, although the extent of the damage
remains unknown.
On Friday, July 19, a Su-34 fighter-bomber
had to make an emergency landing after being
hit by a surface-to-air missile. Despite severe
damage, the crew managed to bring the aircraft
to the nearest airfield. The incident occurred
during a night combat mission at an altitude of
9 km, and fuel began leaking from the aircraft
after it was hit.
Then came the aforementioned disastrous
week. On Sunday, July 21, Ukrainian saboteurs
struck the Tomilino base near Moscow.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence
Su-27 destroyed at the Myrhorod base on July 1st.
Ex-Czech Mi-24 helicopter in Ukrainian service.
Captain Yaroslav Lyubichenko and Lieutenant Oleksandr Shemchuk, who died in a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter
on July 9th.
On July 3rd, this decoy Su-25 was found at the Kryvyi
Rih base.
MiG-29 fighter struck by an Iskander-M missile
at the Kryvyi Rih base on July 3rd.
UKRAINE
INFO Eduard
33
September 2024