Russians confirmed the loss of another Su-35 fighter
19 February, 2024 Russian Su-35 fighter. Illustration photo The Russian Su-35 multi-role fighter was shot down in the sky near occupied Mariupol.
The news of the shooting down of a Russian fighter was announced by Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Force of Ukraine. On Monday, February 19, the Commander of the UAF Mykola Oleshchuk announced the downing of two aircraft of Russian tactical aviation: a Su-34 front-line bomber and a Su-35 multi-purpose fighter. Information about the loss of Su-35 and the death of the pilot was confirmed by a number of Russian media close to aerospace forces of Russian Aerospace Forces.
According to one of the Russian bloggers, the plane was shot down near the village of Rybatske, Mariupol district, Donetsk region, which is located in the occupied territories 84 km from the line of contact. The plane fell at a certain distance from the coast directly in the Sea of Azov. Under similar circumstances, two days earlier, on February 17, Ukrainian air defense shot down another Su-35S fighter in the Eastern direction. "This morning in the Eastern direction, during enemy attacks using guided bombs on the positions of our troops, the Air Force of Ukraine destroyed three Russian aircraft at once: 2 Su-34 and one Su-35," the press service of the Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
Russian propaganda resources also indirectly confirmed the loss of a Su-35S fighter, whose pilot survived, and a Su-34 returned to the airbase.
A Russian pilot of a downed Su-35 fighter after a search and rescue operation, February 17, 2024
In both cases, the aircraft performed the task of Su-34 bombers escorting, usually working in pairs and dropping gliding bombs.
Maksym Zhorin, servicemen of the 3rd Assault Brigade in his Telegram channel said that Russian tactical aviation drops 60-80 bombs per day.
At the same time, Russian propaganda resources say that on February 15, Russian aviation had set a record, dropping about 250 KABs per day.