Ukraine Says It Took Out 5 Russia War Planes in a 3-Day Killstreak

• Ukraine says it shot down 5 Russian warplanes in under three days. 
• The claims come amid a barrage of reported Russian Shahed drone strikes across Ukraine.
• Russia also claims to have shot down four Ukrainian warplanes. 

Ukraine said that it took down five Russian warplanes in less than three days in a remarkable kill streak.

On announcing the fourth, an Su-34 fighter/bomber, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk wrote on Telegram on Sunday: “Merry Christmas!”

Here are the claimed takedowns in full:

Andriy Yermak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, celebrated the takedowns with an emoji-laden message of his own:

Later on Monday, Zelenskyy himself made the takedowns a central part of a Christmas message, saying “This Christmas sets the right mood for the entire year ahead—the mood of our capabilities.”

Destroying five planes in such short order would be a rare feat for Ukraine.

As of December 25, it claimed to have taken down 329 Russian planes since February 24, 2022, a rate of less than 0.5 per day.

Announcing the December 22 takedowns, Ukraine’s Air Forces Spokesperson Yurii Ihnat posted about a “brilliantly planned operation” in which Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems shot down three Su-34 fighter/bombers.

Analysts have suggested that the US-supplied Patriot missile defense system may have been used in the claimed strike, Reuters reported.

The announcements come as Russia also claims to have shot down four Ukrainian craft.

On Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense systems had shot down three Su-27 fighters and one Su-24 tactical bomber. The planes were shot down over the southeastern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, the MOD said, offering no further details.

Business Insider could not independently verify the claims of either side.

Both of the claimed Ukrainian strikes came amid waves of Russian drone strikes across multiple targets across Ukraine.

On Friday, warnings were issues of approaching Shahed exploding drones in Vinnytsia, Cherkasy and Sumy Oblasts, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Oleschuk, in his posts about the downed planes, also warned people to take cover amid Shahed attacks.

As of Monday, Ukraine claimed to have shot down 28 Shahed drones in the attacks sent overnight, Ukrainska Pravda reported.