Russia Rues Loss of Two Combat Planes in Just 72 Hours

Moscow's forces fighting in Ukraine have lost two combat planes in just 72 hours, according to reports.

The Fighterbomber Telegram channel, which has links to the Russian Aerospace Forces, reported the loss of a Russian Su-34 aircraft and the deaths of its crew members late on Monday. "Zhenia and Volodia. Experienced, trained, combat crew. They died in battle, died like warriors," the channel wrote.

Russia's air force has suffered extensive casualties throughout the war in Ukraine. Ukraine's defense ministry in February said its military had shot down six Russian fighter jets in just three days.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation on Saturday that Ukraine's 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade had shot down "another Russian Su-25" in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region earlier that day.

"Good job, guys!" Zelensky added, without elaborating.

In April, the head of the U.S.'s European Command, General Christopher Cavoli, told U.S. lawmakers that Moscow had lost around 10 percent of its aircraft fleet in the war, which began in February 2022.

Dutch open-source intelligence defense analysis website Oryx has visually confirmed that 100 Russian aircraft have been destroyed and nine damaged since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

Oryx has also visually confirmed that 83 Ukrainian aircraft have been destroyed since the beginning of the war, with two damaged and one captured.

Kyiv's military said in an update on Tuesday that Moscow had lost 349 aircraft since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces posts figures on Russia's troop and equipment losses as part of its daily update on the war. It also said Russia had lost 1,160 troops in a single day—bringing the total to 476,406.

Newsweek couldn't independently verify Kyiv's figures.

Estimates of casualty numbers vary, with Ukraine's figures usually exceeding those of its Western allies. Moscow rarely shares information on the number of casualties or equipment losses it has sustained in the war.

In January, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Ukraine's success in downing Russian aircraft in the war indicated that Russia is not capable of achieving air superiority in the conflict.

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