As the war gathered pace, Ukrainian forces said that significant numbers of Russian fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft were shot down or hit in the middle of March. FIGURES FROM THE Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MOD)depicted a battlespace still being hotly contested on land and in the air since the Russian invasion began on February 24. Although it was not possible to independently verify those figures, social media videos purport to show numerous incidents of Russian aircraft being struck by man-portable air defence systems, many of which are being funnelled into the country by NATO. On March 14, the MOD claimed that in the previous 24-hour period "four planes, three helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles" were hit by the Ukrainian Air Force, with information on the type of aircraft "being clarified". Next, in the 24 hours prior to 0600hrs on March 15 Russia lost "four helicopters, one plane" shot down, as well as a cruise missile intercepted, it said. Figures from March 16 stated "three planes" from Russia's military, including two Su-34 multi-role fighters, shot down, as well as another helicopter, three "tactical UAVs" and two cruise missiles.
展开▼
