Strana 17
Ukrainian losses
Ukraine lost five aircraft during this period.
This happened twice during the Russian strikes
on Ukrainian air bases. On Saturday July
12 a turboprop An-26 belonging to Ukraine’s
State Emergency Service, which manages
the country’s rescue forces, burned after
a Russian strike on Chernivtsi International
Airport. During the night of Friday July
18 a Russian strike targeted the Odessa
Aviation Plant. Several buildings and hangars
were destroyed or damaged. An An-72 was hit
as well, however she had been standing unused
since 2021 and was clearly not airworthy.
A much more serious loss befell the
Ukrainian Air Force on Tuesday July 22 in Volyn
region. After taking off for a combat mission,
the pilot of a Mirage 2000-5F reported a critical
failure of onboard instruments and ejected.
The aircraft fell into a swampy area, leaving
only a large crater that quickly filled with
water. The pilot landed safely by parachute
and was soon found by a search and rescue
team. His condition was reported as stable. The
State Bureau of Investigation began an inquiry
into the accident. At this point there was also
a positive development for Ukraine. France
had originally planned to supply ten Mirage
2000-5Fs, but most recently doubled this
number to twenty. It is not yet clear when all
the promised aircraft will be delivered. France
has a total of twenty-eight aircraft of this
version.
The Ukrainian Army Aviation suffered
two further losses. Both concerned the
deployment of light aircraft against drones.
The first was announced on Thursday July
3, but most likely occurred earlier. A tactical
flight group of the Civil Air Patrol lost an
aircraft in Kharkiv region. The crew survived
without injuries. The aircraft type was not
disclosed. In Dnipropetrovsk region, on Friday
July 18, two airmen from the Odesa branch
of the Civil Air Patrol, which was part of
the 11th Army Aviation Brigade, were killed.
The aircraft type was again not disclosed,
but the patch of the unit shows a Yak-52.
The pilot and unit commander, Colonel
Konstantin Oborin, and the gunner Senior
Sergeant Roman Kutsenko were killed. This
happened during a combat mission repelling
a Russian air attack. Their Yak-52 most likely
fell victim to the close explosion of a Russian
drone.
After the Mirage 2000-5F crashed into swampy ground on July 22, only a crater remained, which quickly filled with water.
Colonel Konstantin Oborin, the pilot who died on July 18 during
a combat mission flying Yak-52.
Gunner Roman Kutsenko,
who died together with Colonel
Oborin on July 18.
The patch of the 11th Army Aviation
Brigade, the unint in which Oborin
and Kutsenko served.
UKRAINE
INFO Eduard
17
September 2025