Kyiv said its forces had shot down two high-tech Russian military planes in the latest blow to Moscow’s efforts to control the skies and seas around southern Ukraine, as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy flew to Switzerland to seek more support and funding at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhnyi, said on Monday that a Russian A-50 early-warning surveillance plane and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post had been destroyed in “an excellently planned and conducted operation in Azov region”.
Gen Zaluzhnyi posted footage of what appeared to be two targets vanishing from a radar screen showing airspace over the Azov Sea which – like northern parts of the neighbouring Black Sea – has been fought over since Russia launched its full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian military bloggers appeared to confirm the loss of the A-50 but said the Il-22 had suffered damage and managed to land in Russia; some of them blamed “friendly fire” for the incident, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had “no information” about it.
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Russian sources posted photographs of what they said was the tail fin of the Il-22, which appeared to be badly damaged by shrapnel, while Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat claimed the aircraft was beyond repair.
Kyiv said the loss of the two high-tech planes would disrupt Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, and it came amid repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets in the Black Sea area and in Crimea, which the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014.
“We expect such a strike [on the A-50] to be fairly painful and, at least, to delay powerful missile strikes,” said Ukrainian military spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk.
A prominent Russian military blogger known as Rybar said it was “another dark day for the Russian aerospace forces and air defence… There are not many A-50s. And the specialists operating them are generally rare. If an aircraft of this type is hit, the crew will not be able to escape”.
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Russia fired more than 500 missiles and explosive drones at Ukraine over new year, killing dozens of civilians, injuring hundreds and prompting renewed calls for Kyiv to receive more air defence systems and ammunition.
“In Davos, I will hold important bilateral meetings with EU and Nato representatives to advance our Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as with other leaders and CEOs, to strengthen Ukraine’s defence and economic resilience,” Mr Zelenskiy said after arriving in Switzerland on Monday and meeting senior Swiss officials.
His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, co-hosted talks on Sunday with more than 80 national security advisers and other international officials to discuss Ukraine’s “peace formula” to end two years of all-out war that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.
“It would not be entirely true if I said that absolutely everyone has the same position… But we are extremely united around the main principles based on international law and the norms of the UN Charter,” Mr Yermak said.
Mr Peskov dismissed the meeting as “simply talking for the sake of talking”, because without Russia’s participation “any discussions are devoid of any prospect of any results”.
The United Nations appealed to donors for $4.2 billion (€3.8 billion) to fund humanitarian aid for Ukrainians and help refugees from the country this year.
