Russia Lost Two Fighter-Bombers on Christmas Eve: Kyiv

Ukrainian officials have claimed its armed forces destroyed two Russian fighter-bombers on Christmas Eve.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Christmas Day update that its air defenses had destroyed Russian Su-34 and Su-30 aircraft.

According to a December 25 General Staff Facebook post, 329 Russian aircraft have been destroyed since the start of the war in February 20222.

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify Ukraine's claim that the two fighter bombers were shot down. Russia rarely comments on losses among its own forces.

Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, claimed the fighter-bombers were shot down on the Odesa and Mariupol fronts in the south and east of the country, respectively.

"In the Odesa direction, there was combat work on the Russian Su-30 in the Black Sea," he said in a December 24 Telegram post.

"We are studying materials of objective control in order to know for sure whether the target was hit or not.

"But it has been confirmed that our anti-aircraft missile system hit the Su-34 fighter-bomber in the direction of Mariupol. He did not return to the airport. 'Eternal flight, brothers.' Merry Christmas."

The General Staff said in its Christmas Day update that Ukrainian aircraft had hit multiple Russian targets.

"Over the past day, the Defense Forces Aviation has struck 12 areas of focus of personnel, weapons and military equipment, ammunition warehouse and the enemy's anti-aircraft complex," the General Staff said in its Facebook post.

Newsweek has contacted the General Staff of Ukraine and the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment via email.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, said Russian forces carried out a series of drone and missile strikes against Ukraine on December 23 and 24.

Russian forces launched 16 Shahed-131/-136 drones from Krasnodar Krai, a Russian region just southeast of Ukraine, but 15 of these were shot down by Ukrainian forces.

"Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces launched two missiles of an unknown type against civil infrastructure in Kherson City—located on the Black Sea north of the Crimean Peninsula," the think tank said.

The institute said that Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence agency, said that Russia was continuing to target the country's energy infrastructure. He went on to say that although the projectiles had been destroyed, protocol meant he would not specify the areas that came under fire.

"Yusov also stated that Russian forces are conducting strikes 'more frugally' than in winter 2022, but noted that Russian forces are still capable of conducting powerful missile strikes," the ISW said.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.