Ukrainian Rada member Mysyagin has confirmed in a TG post that Ukrainian air defenses shot down not only an A-50/MAINSTAY, but also an IL-22/COOT. The announcement reads below:
” Around 9:00 p.m., Ukrainian units fired at two Russian air force aircraft, namely the A-50 DRLO aircraft and the IL-22 bomber, which were over the waters of the Sea of ??Azov.
The A-50 was shot down, and the IL-22 was shot down, but it was in the air and tried to reach the nearest airfield, but it disappeared from the radar after the descent began, in the Kerch area.“
This would be the second combat loss of the IL-22 after the June 2023 Wagner shootdown near Voronezh. In June 2023, the Russian VKS only maintained 20 operational IL-22s.
