Three Russian Fighter Jets 'Bang Bang Bang' Shot Down by Ukraine... "Successful Operation"

Russian Military Blogger "Seems to Have Used US-Made Patriot Missile"

The Ukrainian military shot down three Russian fighter jets on the southern front.

On the 22nd (local time), according to foreign media including the BBC, Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, announced via the social media platform Telegram that three Russian SU-34 fighter jets were shot down over the Kherson region.

Surface-to-air guided missile Patriot. The photo shows the Patriot surface-to-air guided missile unit preparing for interception at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force base in Miyakojima City, Okinawa Prefecture, on the afternoon of the 21st of last month.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The SU-34 is a supersonic bomber that first flew in the early 1990s and has been deployed in the Russian Aerospace Forces since 2014.

The Ukrainian side did not disclose exactly how the fighter jets were shot down. It is currently known that the Ukrainian military possesses five Patriot surface-to-air missile systems received from the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Yurii Inat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, said the downed fighter jets are among the most modern aircraft used by the Russian military for attacks such as bombing Ukraine, describing the operation as "a well-planned mission."

Ukrainian President Zelensky responding to reporters' questions
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, explained that the shootdown occurred in the war-ravaged Kherson region and expressed gratitude to the soldiers who shot down the Russian fighter jets.

Russian government officials did not immediately respond. However, Russian military bloggers acknowledged the Ukrainian military’s shootdown of Russian fighter jets and mentioned the possibility that American-made Patriot missiles were used in the incident.

Foreign media reported that Fighter Bomber, an influential Russian military blogger, did not specify the scale of Russian fighter jet losses but said, "An unspecified number of (Russian) fighter jets may have been shot down by American-made Patriot missiles," and that both survivors and casualties related to the Ukrainian attack have been accounted for.

Another blogger, Voenni Osvedomitel, explained that the downed fighter jets may have been used to drop glide bombs on Ukrainian positions along the Dnipro River, which is controlled by Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia for nearly two years, is reportedly facing shortages of ammunition and other military supplies. Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia was halted as winter began with temperatures dropping below freezing. Ukraine has requested additional support from its largest military backer, the United States, but the U.S. proposal for additional aid to Ukraine has faced opposition from the Republican Party and has not yet been approved by the U.S. Congress.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.