On the morning of February 17, 2024, in the Eastern direction, units of the Armed Forces destroyed three enemy aircraft at once — two Su-34 fighter-bombers and one Su-35 fighter.
This was announced by the commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk.
The commander of the Air Force of Ukraine, Mykola Oleschuk, showed on the map the locations of the Russian planes that were shot down by Ukrainian defense forces in the morning. While Russia traditionally denies the losses, four rescue buoys have appeared in the international satellite system Cospas-Sarsat — it is with their help that pilots who have crashed are usually searched for. One pilot, as is clear from the intercepts, has already been found.
On the broadcast of the telethon, the spokesman of the Russian Air Force Yuriy Ignat said that it is not yet known whether the Russian pilots survived — they could have ejected.
- The Su-34 is capable of delivering missile-bomb attacks on ground targets in operational and tactical depth, as well as hitting air targets.
- The Su-35 is a fourth-generation fighter designed to intercept and destroy air targets, as well as to attack ground and surface military facilities, ground infrastructure, etc.