Unconfirmed reports: 12 crew members killed as Russian A-50 aircraft downed over Sea of Azov
Twelve Russian military pilots were lost when an A-50 long-range early warning and control aircraft was downed and sank in the Sea of Azov, reports the Russian military aviation channel Fighterbomber linked to the command of the Russian airforce.
"We will try to address the question of the attack on three of our aircraft in the Sea of Azov. Eleven (other sources say twelve) members of the crew died," the channel wrote. The report insists that the planes were purportedly shot down by the Russian air defense system. "Unfortunately, in the 'Special Military Operation', the most frightening and dangerous enemy for the Russian Aerospace Forces has become our own air defense. It always strikes from behind. There is no defense against it," the Russian Telegram channel claims.
A group of Russian military aircraft came under strike from the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the Sea of Azov on the night of January 15. The A-50, valued at nearly half a billion dollars, was destroyed in the incident. Additionally, an Il-22 air command post aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces was heavily damaged and managed to land, but according to the latest images, it will likely never fly again. The loss of such valuable aircraft is a tragedy for Russian military aviation. To avoid admitting that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have downed the aircraft, Russian media is promoting the narrative that the planes were destroyed by their own air defense systems.