Kiev, Ukraine ( AP )- Russia’s air force claimed Friday that it shot down a Russian tactical bomber, but Moscow officials claimed that the plane crashed in a sparsely populated area as a result of a damage after a battle goal.
No independent investigation was possible for either state. Russian aircraft were shot along by Ukraine in the past, according to Ukraine; their more than two-year war have received no response from Moscow.
However, Russian missiles struck towns in the northern Dnipro area of Ukraine, killing eight citizens, including an 8-year-old woman, and injuring 25, local authorities said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, once more made the same repeated requests for more American air defense systems as he had done before to Israel during a recent Iranian attack.
He wrote on social media platform X that missile and drone strikes could become stopped. “This has been demonstrated in the skies over the Middle East, and it should also operate in Europe. ”
Russia’s air force is vastly stronger than Ukraine’s, but as the Kremlin’s forces continue to advance along the roughly 1,000-kilometer ( 620-mile ) front line in what has turned into a grinding war of attrition, sophisticated missile systems provided by Kyiv’s Western partners pose a major threat to Russian aviation. Authorities in Ukraine predict a significant Russian offensive to take place in the summer.
According to Ukraine, the air pressure and military intelligence worked together to use anti-aircraft missiles to detonate the Tu-22M3 fighter. Kh-22 cruise rockets launch from within its own airport are frequently used by Russia with the bomb to attack Russian targets. The plane may also take nuclear warheads.
The Russian military said the aircraft crashed “in a deserted area” in Stavropol, a southern region, hundreds of kilometers ( miles ) from the Ukrainian border, according to the Russian defense ministry.
After being ejected from the plane, three crew members were saved, and the government says the search for a third is ongoing. But Stavropol Gov. One of the rescued aircraft died, according to Vladislav Vladimirov.
Ukraine claimed to have shot downward two Russian fighter planes on Christmas Eve. In what appeared to be a major blow to the Kremlin’s forces in January, the Russian air force shot down a vital command centre plane and a Russian first alert and control plane. Ukraine claimed to have destroyed yet another first warning and control aircraft the following month.
Additionally, Moscow alleged Kyiv in January of shooting down a Russian military transport plane carrying Russian prisoners who were preparing for a slave switch.
The Russian air force reported that 22 weapons of different types and 14 Shahed drones were used in a combined aerial attack by Russian forces during the night.
All fourteen Shahed robots and 15 of the weapons were intercepted, it said.
