Kyiv claims to have shot down three Russian Su-34s in one day

Ukraine’s air force said on Friday it had shot down three Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers in the south of the country, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stating it had happened in the Kherson region where fighting is raging.

“At noon today, three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers were shot down in the southern operational zone,” the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Olechtchouk, announced on Telegram.

In his speech on Friday evening, Zelenskyy specified that these jets had been shot down by missiles, and said he was “grateful to our soldiers who destroyed three Russian Sukhoi aircraft at once. In the south — in our Kherson region”.

“Let every Russian pilot know about our response to every Russian killer — none of them will go unpunished”, added Mr Zelensky.

The Air Force did not say what happened to the pilots of the planes.

The Russian authorities did not immediately confirm the incident. But the influential Russian military blog Fighterbomber referred to “combat losses” caused, in its view, by the US-supplied Patriot anti-aircraft defence system.

What are Su-34s and why does this strike matter?

Su-34 is Russia’s most advanced twin-seat supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber. In service since 2014, Moscow deployed the jet on missions in Syria and Ukraine. Despite the Kremlin touting it as the crown jewel of its military aviation, Su-34s have been used in low-altitude bombing attacks due to a lack of guided missiles, exposing them to heavy air defences.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has confirmed the loss of at least 10 Su-34s in fighting with the Kyiv forces, while the actual number of downed jets is believed to be significantly higher.

Su-34s have also been involved in several crash incidents, most notably on 17 October 2022, when one of the jets crashed into a residential apartment complex during a training flight in the Russian city of Yeysk. At least 15 people were killed and 19 were treated in hospital, according to the local authorities.

In related news, the Dutch government announced Friday it is preparing to give 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, in a boost for the country’s air combat capabilities. 

The donation is believed to be a big step toward helping Ukraine gain significant ground in the fight for air supremacy — a powerful element of modern warfare Russia has used to its advantage to maintain its stranglehold on one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.