Russian troops destroyed seven out of nine enemy aircraft they targeted in a single day, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
This included a precision strike on the Mirgorod airfield in the Poltava region, which resulted in seven Su-27 aircraft being hit; five of these were destroyed, and two were damaged. Mirgorod air base is locate 100 miles from Ukraine’s northern border with Russia.
In addition to the destruction of Su-27s on the airfield, Russian air defense systems shot down one MiG-29 and one Su-27 fighter.
The Su-27s and MiG-29s have been modified to carry western missiles such as the Storm Shadow and Hammer.
Ukraine’s air force went to war in February 2022 with around 125 Su-27s, Su-25s, MiG-29s and other jets. In 28 months of hard fighting, the Ukrainians have lost around 90 jets, as per analysts at Oryx.
The Ministry also reported the destruction of a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone, part of a broader operation that saw 81 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles destroyed over the same period.
The Russian Defense Ministry further announced the destruction of six British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, a French-made Hammer aerial bomb, and a HIMARS MLRS rocket supplied by the United States.