Russian air defenses close to the frontlines in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region have shot down one of Moscow’s own advanced fighter jets, footage circulating online appears to show.
Russian air defense systems took out a Russian Su-35 multirole fighter jet around the occupied Ukrainian city of Tokmak, Russian and Ukrainian military bloggers as well as open-source intelligence accounts reported on Friday.
Russian authorities have not confirmed the reported incident. Newsweek is unable to independently verify the footage, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
In late August, data compiled and analyzed by Newsweek revealed that more than a fifth of Russia’s known manned aircraft and helicopter losses since the start of the war in Ukraine were not down to enemy action.
Western analysts say Russia’s air force has an unusually high rate of self-inflicted losses, coming down to factors like restricted training time, few experienced pilots and the pressures of constant combat.
According to Dutch open-source intelligence outlet Oryx, Russia has lost four Su-35 jets since its troops crossed over into Ukrainian territory on February 24, 2022.
Russia has frequently used its Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet, which it hails as a fourth-generation aircraft with fifth-generation technology, for its ongoing war effort in Ukraine.
The Su-35 is a modernized version of the Su-27 fighter, designed to “significantly increase engagement effectiveness against air, land and sea targets,” according to the United Aircraft Corporation, an aerospace and defense corporation largely owned by the Russian government. The Su-35 had its maiden flight in February 2008, according to the UAC.
It was “specifically designed” to combat Western-made aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin-made F-16s, former British military officer Frank Ledwidge previously told Newsweek.
The area around Tokmak, which was captured by Russian forces in the first weeks of full-scale warfare, lies on Ukraine’s road to the occupied city of Melitopol. Kyiv’s counteroffensive, which started in early June, will hope to advance through well-prepared Russian defenses on the road to Tokmak, on to Melitopol before reaching the Sea of Azov.
Russia has likely deployed elements from its 70th and 71st Motorized Rifle Regiments between the current frontline in Zaporizhzhia and Tokmak, a U.S. defense think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said on Tuesday.
But Ukraine would secure a major breakthrough if its fighters can take Tokmak, Ukrainian General Oleksandr Tarnavsky, who heads up Ukraine’s Tavria operational grouping of forces, told CNN last week.
Update 9/29/2023 at 6:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
