RT-Engels: 15-09-2024,
Kiev’s forces have lost two Soviet-era Su-27s and a Su-29, the Defense Ministry has said
Russian forces have shot down three Ukrainian fighter jets over the last 24 hours, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
Two Sukhoi Su-27 aircraft operated by Kiev were destroyed by the Russian Aerospace Forces, while Russian air defenses have shot down a Mikoyan MiG-29 plane, the ministry said in its daily update on Sunday.
During the same period, the Russian air defenses also intercepted a US-made HIMARS rocket, four French-made Hammer guided bombs, and 55 drones, it added.
Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces lost more than 2,200 troops along the front line and dozens of units of various equipment, including several US-made M777 towed artillery pieces and British L-119 howitzers.
The production of Su-27s and MiG-29s started in the Soviet Union in the early 1980s, with the fighter jets intended to counter American fourth generation aircraft such as F-15s and F-16s.
In July, Forbes reported, citing Oryx defense analysis data, that Ukraine had some 125 jets including Su-27s, Su-25s, MiG-29s and others when the conflict between Moscow and Kiev escalated in February 2022. Around 90 of those aircraft have been destroyed since then, it added.
A “coalition” of European states, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium, promised to supply Kiev with some 80 F-16s more than a year ago.
Ukraine,