Russia Admits Prized A-50 Radar Plane Downed by Kyiv, Decries 'Terrorism'

Russia has placed a Ukrainian soldier on its federal wanted list for ordering the "destruction" of an advanced Russian spy plane earlier this year, according to Moscow's main federal investigative body. This is the first acknowledgment from Russia that Ukraine successfully took out the aircraft.

In mid-January 2024, Ukrainian forces said they had shot down a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft over the Sea of Azov. The loss was also reported by Russian military bloggers often used as sources of information when Moscow does not officially comment on the war in Ukraine.

Kyiv then said it had taken out a second A-50 on February 23, little over a month later. At least one Russian military blogger contradicted Ukraine's claims, saying the airborne early warning and control was downed by friendly fire.

Russia's investigative committee said on Monday that it had approved a "preventative measure in the form of detention" against Colonel Mykola Dzyaman, a commander in Ukraine's military, in connection with the loss of a Russian aircraft on February 23.

The committee said the aircraft "was not intended for combat operations, had no weapons, and the flight was taking place exclusively in the airspace of the Russian Federation."

Colonel Dzyaman allegedly "gave an illegal order to his subordinate military personnel to destroy it," according to Russian authorities, which said 10 crew members on board had been killed and the aircraft destroyed.

The Ukrainian soldier was "charged in absentia" with committing a terrorist act resulting in the death of a person, and was "put on the federal wanted list," the investigative committee said in a statement.

Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian military for comment.

Also known by their NATO moniker Mainstay, A-50s help Russia seek out Ukrainian air defenses and coordinate attacks to be carried out by other aircraft, such as fourth-generation jets. Each plane costs hundreds of millions of dollars, and Ukraine's air force has described A-50s as a "priority target."

In early March, the British government said Russia had likely grounded its remaining A-50 fleet, cutting off much of the situational awareness fed to Moscow's air crews operating against Ukraine.

There is a "realistic possibility Russia may attempt to bring previously mothballed A-50 airframes back into service," the U.K. Defense Ministry added.

At the most, Russia is believed to have just six A-50s left. Belarusian partisans said in late February that they had damaged another A-50 just outside of Minsk.

If the Kremlin loses another A-50, it will be unable to keep up 24/7 operations, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency, said in February.

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