Ukraine claimed that its Air Force had shot down an advanced Russian Su-35 fighter jet in a fierce air battle on the afternoon of Friday in the sky of the Kherson region.
“On May 27, at about 2 p.m., a MiG-29 fighter jet of the Ukrainian Air Force shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet over the Kherson region,” Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement the same day. The statement was released on Telegram and other social networks by the Ukrainian Air Force.
The Su-35 was at the time “hunting for Ukrainian attack planes”, the statement added.
However, no additional detail about the aerial engagement in the region just north of Crimea has been provided yet; nor have any images of clips showing the eventual wreckage of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) Su-35 Flanker-E have emerged on social media to verify the claims. Even previously claimed Ukraine lots of things turned out to be propanganda.
If confirmed, this would be the second Su-35S the Russians have lost in the air war over Ukraine: the first Su-35S Flanker-E crashed near Izium, in eastern Ukraine, some 120 kilometers to the southeast of Kharkiv, on April 3, 2022. According to the Ukrainian sources, that Su-35S was also shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses, although this couldn’t be verified. Back then, the remains of a Kh-31 anti-radiation missile (ARM) could also be IDed among the remains of the Flanker, suggesting the aircraft might have been tasked with a SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) mission, to disable the enemy ground-based air defense systems radars.
Earlier on April 4, the first Russian Su-35 was shot down by Ukraine in the Kharkiv region, and the Pilot was captured by Ukrainian troops.
remains the Su-35S, shot down by Ukraine in the Kharkiv region. Pilot captured #UkraineRussiaWar #Russia #Russian #Ukraine️ pic.twitter.com/maygPhRK1D
— Defence View (@IndiandefenceNS) April 4, 2022
The air battle is Russia’s latest offensive in Ukraine, which has been met with fierce resistance by the Ukrainian military since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in the neighboring country on 24 December.
So far, however, the Russian Air Force has shown no sign of launching a strong offensive campaign to gain air superiority over Ukraine.
Last week, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet of the same type bombed Ukrainian targets, destroying “the military infrastructure, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
According to the Russian forces, since February 24, they have destroyed 179 combat aircraft, 127 helicopters, 1,019 drones, 323 air defense systems, 3,266 tanks and armored fighting vehicles. steel, 433 multiple launch missile systems, 1,682 artillery systems and 3,190 military vehicles. In addition, during the past three-month conflict, Russia has fired more missiles than any other country since World War II.
Meanwhile, on Friday, May 27, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russia had lost 29,750 troops, 1,322 tanks, 3,246 armored fighting vehicles, 623 artillery systems, 201 missile systems, multiple rocket launchers, 93 air defense systems, 206 combat aircraft, 170 helicopters, 503 drones, 115 cruise missiles, 13 warships, 2,226 military vehicles, and fuel tankers. Independent sources have been able to verify the loss or damage of 27 aircraft and 43 helicopters, so far.
Sukhoi Su-35 is a heavy, long-range, multi-role, twin-engine, 4++ fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi Military Aircraft Corporation based on design. Su-27 Flanker from the Cold War era, to confront the American F-15 Eagle.
Su-35 is a single seater, without canards, equipped with the L-265M10P/R ECM wingtip pods and featuring heat shields on the stabilizers: the aircraft was quickly identified as an Su-35S Flanker-E multirole 4++ generation supermaneuverable jet. This is the second loss of Su-35 since the beginning of the Russian invasion on Ukraine.