The Ukrainian Armed Forces have said that the air force has shot down another Su- 34 fighter bomber.
On Monday Ukrainian forces shot down a Su-34 and Su-35 fighter bombers in eastern Ukraine who had been targeting Kyiv’s forces with guided bombs.
The Su-34 fighter jet is one of Russia’s most expensive costing around $36 million each and in total Ukraine has shot down 335 Russian aircraft since the war started.
Commander of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk said that “this time” the pilot was lucky.
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Oleschuk said on Wednesday, “This time I can say that the Su-35 pilot was lucky: he maneuvered and is no longer taking risks. But the Su-34 crew is joining our column ‘Eternal flight, brothers.”
On Monday the Kyiv Post reported that Lieutenant General Nikolai Oleshchuk, commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said, “The eastern direction. Another two down: the Su-34 fighter-bomber and the Su-35S fighter!
“This is our land, and our sky! Thank you all for your hard work! To be continued!”
The adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryushchenko confirmed to the Kyiv Post of the warplanes crashing.
Andryushchenko said, “Our people heard two explosions in the city, with the epicenter in the Primorsky district, at approximately 9:16 a.m. by Kyiv time.
“And the burning plane began to fall in the area of the village of Rybatske.”
On Sunday morning a video emerged of a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber crashing and then exploding.
According to Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Forces of the AFU, cited by the RBC Ukraine news outlet, AFU “brought down” another Russian fighter jet on Monday morning.
“The Muscovites have ‘no losses’ again. Around 6:00 this morning, another Su-34 ‘successfully returned’ to base,” Oleshchuk wrote, adding that this happened on the eastern front.”