UKRAINE scored a major war victory today in downing three Russians Su-34 bombers.
The Russian aircraft were shot out of the sky near the Dnipro River, where Kyiv forces have secured a bridgehead on the eastern bank.
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It appears the warplanes – each costing £40 million – were downed by US Patriot missiles.
The loss is a major humiliation for Vladimir Putin, and recriminations had begun over the military tactics that left the warplanes vulnerable.
Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said that his soldiers had found a message reading “die, b****es” etched into shrapnel from a drone that was downed last night.
He posted his response on Telegram.
He said: “What a great idea! Here’s our answer.
“Today at noon on the southern front, three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers were downed!
“Eternal flight ‘brothers’.”
His spokesman Yuri Ignat called it “yet another brilliantly-planned operation to destroy the enemy on our doorstep…
“This time it was three planes at the same time in the southern direction.
“We didn’t have this for a long time.
“We didn’t have Su-34 [bombers] in our statistics for a long while.”
At least one Russian crew is believed to have ejected.
Russian military Telegram channel VDV called it a “dark day” for Putin’s air force.
“In the Kherson direction, we simultaneously lost three Su-34 aircraft,” said the channel.
“Condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.”
The strikes are believed to have been in the vicinity of Krynky village.
The outlet admitted that Ukraine had used the latest air defence systems in this area, and claimed warnings had not been heeded.
FlightBomber – another Russian war channel – admitted that several Russians had been killed.
“We took everyone – the living and the dead,” it said, evidently referring to rescue missions.
“According to the preliminary information, it was Patriot.”
T his is believed to refer to the American MIM-104 Patriot air defence system.
The Su-34 aircraft are used by Russia to carry bombs and X-59 missiles. Russia was thought to have had 155 of these bombers before it launched its invasion of Ukraine.
It was reported that more than 20 of them had been shot down by Ukraine prior to today.
According to the Ukrainian military, Putin’s forces have lost tens of thousands of tanks, armoured vehicles, rocket systems, aircraft, ships, submarines, drones, and troops.
Russia lost 1,250 men on Sunday alone, while Saturday’s death toll hit 930, Ukraine’s General Staff reported.
Their figures put the total Russian losses over a three-day bombardment to 3,270 troops.
Putin is believed to have lost at least 340,000 troops since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Yet, Putin keeps throwing his troops into meat-grinder assaults in a desperate attempt to secure a winter victory.
Despite massive losses in Avdiika, Russian troops have still inched forward steadily, seeking to envelop the region and cut Ukrainian supply lines.
To very little avail, as Ukrainian military has said today that that they have been able to “restrain the enemy”.
“Our soldiers are steadfastly holding the defence,” the military update said, adding Russia had suffered “significant losses”.
This week, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said that Russia’s attempts to capture the city had led to a 90 per cent increase in casualties.
In this region alone, Russia has suffered the deaths of 40,000 of their troops.
This comes amid a winter of discontent for Russian troops, as they receive inadequate winter clothing, a lack of medical aid, and are now being mowed down by “rat-bite fever”.
Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said that the disease, a type of streptococcal infection, can be transmitted by direct contact with rodents, or by inhaling their urine, faeces or mucus.
They listed several symptoms, stating that alongside bleeding eyes, vomiting and severe back pain, sufferers also experience headaches, rashes, a decrease in blood pressure and fevers of 40 degrees.
In its early stages, the disease is similar to the flu. However, it quickly intensifies and can do serious damage to major organs like kidneys.
“In the Kupyansk direction of the front of the occupiers, mouse fever is mowing down en masse,” the Directorate wrote on Telegram.
“As a result, mouse fever significantly reduced the fighting ability of Russian rats.”
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