A photo has appeared of allegedly one of two planes shot down over the Sea of Azov
Russian official sources have still not given detailed comments on information disseminated by Ukraine about the destruction of two combat aircraft over the Sea of Azov last night.
Political scientist Sergei Markov fears that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have begun to use new NATO weapons:
“Of course, UkroSMI cannot be trusted. Let's wait for a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense - they will tell the whole truth. Slowly indeed. But there is something behind this message of a double whammy. What? Thus, apparently, an announcement is being made about the use of a new type of weapon by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This or some new Western missiles transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Or even, perhaps, the beginning of the combat use of F-16 aircraft with just a new type of missiles. What was it?".
The "Two Majors" channel, unofficially considered close to the border service, confirms the crash of only one aircraft—the scarce A-50 reconnaissance aircraft. However, the crew of the Il-22, despite the damage, managed to land the aircraft. ( Photos purported to be of this particular aircraft landing in Anapa are already circulating online .) According to "Two Majors," the accident occurred as a result of so-called "friendly fire."
"Last night over the Sea of Azov, our Il-22M airborne command post was shot down. The plane crashed, and several crew members were injured. In the same area, they reported the downing of an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft. The preliminary cause was friendly fire. The possible cause of the failure of the IFF system is unknown... Let's tell the Ukrainians not to rejoice. Airplanes are built in Russia, not just begging for old junk. And everything they build this year will bomb Ukraine ," the source writes.
“They could have shot down the A-50U and knocked out the Il-22 themselves. War is war. However, the question is: who was in the flying command post of the Il-22 SURT (control and relay aircraft), if it was him? Let me remind you that during the Wagner rebellion they shot down a similar plane,” notes political scientist Marat Bashirov.
The only official to comment on the incident was Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. He stated that there was no information that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had shot down any Russian aircraft the day before. Therefore, if the aircraft were indeed hit, Kyiv's propaganda is trying to portray it as a success.
Former speaker of the Novorossiya parliament Oleg Tsarev believes that, against the backdrop of Ukrainian disinformation, the public should have been honestly informed about what happened.
“There are situations when information must be provided by authorized persons. It seems to me that this is exactly such a case. It will be right. I hope this is understood where decisions are made.”
Military correspondent Roman Saponkov points out that it is unlikely that the incident will be hushed up.
“Regarding the photo of the damaged IL-22, let me remind you once again that in the information era any resonant event will come to light. This is not the 80s of the 20th century. Any information will leak."
Columnist Alexander Zimovsky generally demands demonstrative punishment for the perpetrators, since, in his opinion, otherwise such mistakes may be repeated.
“Warships in ports will explode again, they will burn from “friendly fire” of A-50/Il-22 in the air, and tanks/infantry fighting vehicles will burn and burn; and they will still burn in the same place, on the same nickel near an unfamiliar village at an unnamed height, as they arrive,” Zimovsky writes in his channel.
English version :: Read in English A photo has surfaced of one of the two planes allegedly shot down over the Sea of Azov.