The Russian disaster in the air strike launched by Putin against Ukraine on Christmas Eve
Last night, in the middle of Christmas Eve and when many Ukrainians were celebrating their family dinner, Russia launched a new air attack against Ukraine.
After the ambush in which Russia lost three Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers this week, in a bold blow to Ukrainian air defenses using long-range MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles, Russia wanted to get even during the Christmas celebrations, but things went wrong for the invading forces.
Ukraine shot down 28 of the 31 Shahed 136 drones launched last night by Russia
Early this morning, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that last night Russia launched against Ukraine 31 Shahed 136 unmanned attack aerial vehicles, manufactured in Iran, from the towns of Chauda and Balaklava, in the occupied region of Crimea. Of those 31 drones, 28 were shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses in Odessa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kirovohrad and Khmelnytsky.
Three air-to-surface missiles shot down by the Ukrainian defenses
In addition, the Ukrainian Air Force has also noted that during this airstrike, Russia fired a Kh-59 guided air-to-surface missile in the direction of Zaporizhzhia and a Kh-31P anti-radar missile from the Black Sea. These are missiles that are launched from airplanes. The Kh-59, known as AS-13 "Kingbolt" by NATO, has a range of up to 290 km in its most modern version, the Kh-59MK2, and a 320 kg warhead. In turn, the Kh-31P, known as AS-17 "Krypton" by NATO, has a range of 110 km and a 600 kg warhead. The Ukrainian Air Force added: "Both are destroyed!" Also, this Monday at noon Ukrainian defenses have shot down another Kh-59 missile in the Kryvyi Rih district, Dnipropetrovsk region.
A Su-30 fighter was shot down while heading towards Odessa
In addition to the destroyed drones and missiles, Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses have managed to shoot down two more Russian fighter planes, bringing the number of fighter jets shot down by Ukraine this week to five. One of the downed planes was a Su-30SM fighter over the Black Sea, although the Ukrainian Air Force has not indicated whether it is the same plane that launched the Kh-31P anti-radar missile from that area. The defense expert The Ukrainian Air Force noted that the Russian fighter was shot down while flying towards Odessa< /a>.
The Su-30 is an interceptor aircraft and also with attack capabilities. It made its first flight in 1989 and entered service in the Russian Air Force in 1996. The Su-30SM version, Known as "Flanker-H" by NATO, it entered service in 2013. It is very advanced, has more weapons transport capacity and improvements in avionics and its jamming systems, in addition to being able to project false images radar. This plane probably fell to the MIM-104 Patriot missile, just like the three Su-34s shot down a few days ago.
The fourth Russian Su-34 shot down in a week
In addition, the Ukrainian Air Force reported the downing of a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber in the Donetsk region. It is the fourth plane of this type to be shot down by Ukraine in a week (the three planes in the ambush a few days ago were also Su-34s). In this case, the Russian plane was flying in the direction of Mariupol, surely seeking to reach the firing radius necessary to launch its missiles without being hit by the Ukrainian air defenses. Once again, the Russians would not have counted on the long range of the Patriot missiles.
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Main photo: Russian Ministry of Defense. Two Su-30 fighters of the Russian Air Force.
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