The alleged explosions at the Machulyshchi military airfield near Minsk and the damage to the Russian A-50 aircraft will not affect the ability of the Russians to attack Ukraine with missiles and kamikaze drones.
Yuriy Ignat, the speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said this on the air of the telethon.
According to him, the Russians have about nine such planes, and half of that number are modernized.
“Of course, this is good news for Ukraine [the blowing up of the plane], what can we say? This aircraft is constantly in the air, conducts radar reconnaissance, scans the territory when our air defense systems are operating, detects their location, tracks the takeoff, landing and directions of movement of our aircraft,” Ignat said.
The spokesman was also asked whether such reports about the destruction of the plane should be believed, since there was no official confirmation.
“I trust. I have my sources of information, but I canʼt tell you them,” he explained.
- On February 26, it became known about explosions at the military airfield Machulyshchi near Minsk and damage to a Russian plane and snow removal equipment. According to activists, the target of the attack was the Russian A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft. As a result of two explosions, the front and central parts of the plane were allegedly damaged, the avionics and the radar antenna were damaged. Aliaksandr Azarov, head of the public organization of former Belarusian security forces, BYPOL, said that the attack was carried out by Belarusian partisans with the help of drones.
- Russia constantly uses Belarusian airfields for its planes. In particular, fighter jets carrying the Kinzhal missile, which is beyond the reach of Ukrainian air defense, periodically take off from Machulyshchi.