The Armed Forces of Ukraine have shot down a second Russian warplane over occupied Crimea within a single day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Saturday in his evening address. The successful operation, carried out with the aid of Ukraine’s increasingly effective long range strike capabilities, dealt another blow to Russia’s military presence in the illegally occupied region.
President Zelenskyy praised Ukrainian forces for their precise actions both in the air and at sea. A key part of the operation involved a naval drone, which successfully downed a Russian military aircraft, believed to be a Su-30 fighter jet, worth approximately 50 million US dollars (around 40 million pounds sterling). This marks the second aircraft eliminated by Ukrainian forces over Crimea in the same twenty four hour period.
Zelenskyy described the drone attack as “brilliant” and “proof of Ukrainian capabilities.” He noted that Ukrainian forces also struck and destroyed several Russian military warehouses in Crimea during the same operation.
Intense fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region. The most active clashes are currently taking place near Pokrovsk, but battles are ongoing along the full length of the front line. Ukrainian forces are also maintaining pressure in Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions, with the President expressing gratitude to the defence experts enhancing Ukraine’s long range strike potential in all domains.
In a significant milestone, Ukraine became the first nation in the world to destroy a Russian Su-30 fighter jet using a Magura naval drone. The attack occurred near Novorossiysk, a Russian port city on the Black Sea.
President Zelenskyy also introduced new sanctions targeting nations supporting the Kremlin and confirmed further defence assistance to Ukraine.
