Patriot Missiles vs. Russian Su-34s: Unraveling the Kherson Incident
The Russian military made no mention of the incident. But Russian bloggers acknowledged the loss, and analysts suggested US-supplied Patriot missiles had probably been used.
The reports could not be independently verified by Reuters.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk announces Russian Su-34 fighter bombers in the southern sector at noon today.
On national television, Air Force spokeswoman Yuri Ihnat called it a “brilliantly planned operation.”
Positive stats indicate no recent presence of Su-34s, one of Russia’s advanced assault planes,” said Mykola Oleshchuk, Ukrainian Air Force Commander.
Zelenskiy praised the Odesa region anti-aircraft unit in his weekly video speech for successfully downing the planes over the Kherson region.
Early days of Moscow’s
In the early days of Moscow’s assault in February 2022, the area was under occupation. In November, Ukrainian soldiers took up positions in Kherson on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River as part of their territorial reoccupation efforts.
A Russian newspaper called Eurasia Daily believed the Ukrainian version made sense. According to the report, Kyiv may have fired Patriot missiles from the western bank of the Dnipro River, which has a range of up to 160 km (100 miles), towards high-altitude targets.
“Ukrainian NV Radio believes aviation expert Valeriy Romanenko’s suggestion that Patriot missiles likely shot down the Russian planes.”
“The Russians were dropping up to 100 bombs in the south in this particular situation. “In midair, three became stuck together. “According to Romanenko, the neglect of considering the 160-kilometer range for aerodynamic targets of the Patriot is noteworthy.”
Ukrainian successes in reclaiming Russian-held areas in the northeast and south, which were rapid a year ago, have become less frequent in recent times.
Zaluzhnyi’s assertion of entering an “attrition” phase, dismisses the necessity for a strategy shift.
