The once dreaded Russian military is turning into a complete laughingstock after shooting down badly needed attack helicopters and fighter jets from its own Air Force.
This is a development mockingly described by the Ukrainian military as “gestures of goodwill.”
Putin’s Invasion Lacking Aircraft
More than half of the operational aircraft fleet of the Russian Air Force has now been destroyed, according to the estimates of Ukrainian military experts.
As per the latest count update of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, a total of 222 Russian warplanes have been shot down, along with 190 military helicopters.
At the same time, 40,230 Russian soldiers are estimated to have been killed in combat so far.
Although the actual number is likely close to 80,000 when also counting those lost by Russia’s mercenary private armies, the Russian National Guard, and the ethnic Russian conscripts from occupied parts of Ukraine in the Donbas region.
Bloodthirsty Putin began his all-out invasion of Ukraine with some 200,000 heavily armed troops.
Getting embarrassing for russia, really. Frst they down their own super expensive top of the line SU-34M last week and now this. That's what happens when your military doesn't have FOF tech integrated between all branches and you just half ass a war. https://t.co/8BojV8I7mj
— Merc (@JustDrew8055) July 27, 2022
#Ukraine:A Russian Su-34 strike aircraft was shot down, likely in the vicinity of Alchevsk, #Luhansk Oblast.
According to preliminary information, it was likely to be a case of friendly fire. pic.twitter.com/4DIzPE8Y5N
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) July 18, 2022
Very likely that Russian forces downed RF-95890 over Alchevsk, one of the few modernized (and very valuable) Su-34Ms in the Russian inventory.
The SU-34M is equipped to carry an advanced suite of sensor pods that can remotely send back information over datalink. https://t.co/13LHF8BkF7 pic.twitter.com/EPzzT3PMwM
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) July 19, 2022
Russians Making Progress Against Own ‘Aerospace Forces’
Russian invaders have been making world headlines for the past five months due to their terrible incompetence and inefficiency, but they have now fallen to a new low.
On Wednesday, a Russian military attack helicopter attacked Russian troops on the ground in the Kherson region in Southern Ukraine, believing they were Ukrainians by mistake.
The Russians reacted and also mistakenly shot down the helicopter of their own team, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military announced, as cited by The Daily Mail.
The Ukrainian command jokingly called the Russians shooting down their own attack helicopter “a gesture of goodwill,” an allusion to the Russian statements whenever their troops are forced to retreat by the Ukrainians.
The machine was a Ka-52 Alligator helicopter, one of the most modern in the Russian Air Force, costing about $14.5 million per unit.
It was part of a “seek-and-destroy” party of three Russian helicopters trying to locate and take out some of the HIMARS rocket artillery systems supplied to Ukraine by the United States.
The HIMARS, with a range of about 50 miles, have proven brutally efficient.
Even though only about 16 launchers are in Ukrainian possession at present, they have allowed Ukraine to destroy more than 50 Russian ammunition depots, plus command and control centers, along with major communications.
Last week, Russian troops in the Luhansk region in the Donbas, in Southeast Ukraine, shot down a Russian SU-34M fighter-bomber, which costs about $40 million per unit.
After the Su-34 fell from the sky, a video of its wreckage emerged on social media showing the machine belonged to the Russian “Aerospace Forces.”
In April, the Russian military in Ukraine also shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter plane by mistake, also one of the most modern aircraft in the Russian Air Force.
Modernized Su-34M bombers began to be delivered to the troops in 2021.
They received updated avionics, high-precision weapons, as well as a set of several aerial research containers as part of the
Sych development program, completed in 2019.
¶
— Daniel Andrey (@andrey_botea) July 28, 2022
Russian Su-35 fighter that was shot down by friendly fire near Nova Kahovka, russian-occupied southern part of #Ukraine.
This is the second modern russian aircraft that they shot down themselves recently (Su-34M was shot down yesterday).#russianLosses #RussiaInvadedUkraine pic.twitter.com/QgDv4gzJUP
— Walter Report 🇺🇦 (@walter_report) July 19, 2022
This article appeared in MorningPress and has been published here with permission.These are the indicative estimates of Russia’s combat losses as of July 28, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/OKhmWuc4oP
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 28, 2022
