Umierov: Western air defense systems have reduced Russian aviation activity

20 March, 2024 Illustrative photo of a Patriot missile launch. Photo credits: fakty.com.ua In his speech at the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, Defense Minister Rustem Umierov gave an example of the effective front-line use of air defense systems provided by partners.

The press service of the Ministry of Defense reported on this. In particular, in one of its hottest areas, Russian aircraft was dropping 5 to 60 guided bombs per day. The situation changed when Ukrainian air defense systems shot down three enemy bombers in one day.

Infographic of the use of guided bombs by Russians.

Source: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine

"They did it thanks to the military assistance you provided. At that time, the Russian bombing stopped. For more than 11 weeks.

And then our troops were able to focus on the task at hand. Without worrying that 500 or 1,500 kilograms of explosives could fall on their heads," Umierov said.

Russian tactical aviation losses

In December and February 2024, there were a series of substantial losses of Russian tactical aviation during the dropping of guided bombs on Ukrainian military positions. For example, on December 22, Militarnyi reported that the Ukrainian Air Force shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers in the southern sector.

On February 17, it was reported that Ukrainian air defense shot down two Su-34 fighter-bombers and one Su-35S fighter in the eastern sector.

The crash of a Russian Su-34/35 in the village of Diakove. February 17, 2024, Ukraine. Frame from the video of the Dnipro OSINT with Harbuz group

Mykola Oleschuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, was reporting on this.

Later, Oleshchuk released a map of the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme search and rescue initiative with four emergency radio buoys that showed that Russian pilots had ejected in the border areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The radio buoys are located near the town of Amvrosiivka in the Donetsk region, the village of Diakove in the Luhansk region, and the Russian village of Lysogorka. Later, on Monday, February 19, the Commander of the UAF announced the downing of two aircraft of Russian tactical aviation: a Su-34 front-line bomber and a Su-35 multi-purpose fighter jet.

It was also reported that the OSINT community had analyzed recent satellite imagery and identified the likely crash sites of the downed Russian planes.