A Russian airborne early warning and control aircraft Beriev A-50, which is essentially a flying radar system, was shot down by the defenders of Ukraine on February 23, 2024. Actually, it was the second A-50 Ukraine managed to destroy this year – the first jet of this type was shot down on the 14th of January 2024.
Ukraine immediately claimed it was its achievement, although Russian propagandists seeking to downplay Ukraine’s air defence capabilities said it was a friendly fire incident. In both cases, the planes were shot down over the Sea of Azov. The second one fell somewhere in the Krasnodar region of Russia. Ukraine said that 10 officers were onboard on each plane and none of them survived.
The task of the A-50 in this war is to monitor the skies of Ukraine, to spot Ukrainian planes taking off, to help coordinate Russian missile attacks. The Beriev A-50 is a military aircraft, there is absolutely no denying that. If Russia didn’t have armed forces, the world would be a safer place and it wouldn’t have the A-50 because it is only needed for military operations.
However, it is now being reported that the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation is seeking to convict Ukrainians responsible for the downing of the A-50. According to Russians, that plane was unarmed and, therefore, was not a combat plane, not a legitimate target even in the times of war. Thus, Russia officially admitted that that particular A-50 was shot down by a Ukrainian missile and did not fall victim to some weird friendly fire accident. Also, Russia showed that it does not know what a military plane is. A plane does not need weapons to be considered a military aircraft.
What will Ukrainian officials be charged with? Terrorism that killed people. Considering that Russia regularly attacks Ukraine’s energy facilities, malls and other civilian objects, calling the downing of a military plane terrorism is an especially blatant act. Especially considering that the crew of the A-50 were not civilians – they were part of the Russian Air Force.
However, this was more of a public relations stunt for the domestic audience, which is eagerly waiting for someone to be recognized guilty for losing those planes. One A-50 is worth somewhere around 330 million dollars. Russia has only a few of them and now they will not come anywhere close to the air defence zone of Ukraine…Continue Reading>>>
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