Powerful Blow For Russia: AFU Reveal Consequences of A-50 Aircraft Elimination

What has changed for the occupants of the skies?

On the evening of 14 January, Ukrainian servicemen destroyed an A-50 long-range radar reconnaissance and control aircraft over the waters of the Sea of Azov. This loss was significant for the enemy, particularly in moral and psychological terms.

Moreover, the loss of highly qualified personnel, rather than equipment, was more significant for the enemy.

Nataliya Humenyuk, the head of the press centre of the Southern Ukrainian Defence Forces, said this on the programme.

According to her, the Russian army still has aircraft such as the A-50. But the destruction of the specialists on board was a big slap in the face for the Russian Federation.

"We must understand that this is a big slap in the face, a big loss, a very serious reorientation of work. This loss of specialists is even more significant than the loss of equipment, because unfortunately the enemy still has such equipment. And the list of specialists is very small, this loss has hit them very hard," Humenyuk said.

At the same time, he added, over the past 24 hours the enemy in southern Ukraine has tried its best to demonstrate that the loss of the A-50 aircraft will not affect aviation activity. In particular, on 15 January, terrorists launched 13 aerial bombs on the right bank of the Kherson region.

"Unfortunately, we did not completely eliminate the enemy aircraft.

They have created some tension in the air to divert attention from the loss of their aircraft. They activated tactical aviation in our area of responsibility in the last 24 hours, sending 13 guided bombs along the right bank. They have tried to hit as much civilian infrastructure as possible - houses, administrative buildings. This is all the enemy is trying to turn into pressure in revenge for our activity on the left bank," Humenyuk said.

We will remind, on the morning of 15 January, the Commander-in-Chief of the AFU, Valery Zaluzhny, confirmed that on the evening of 14 January, the fighters of the AFU Air Force had destroyed the Russian A-50 long-range radar aircraft. In addition, the defenders permanently "grounded" an Il-22 air control centre of the Russian Air Force.