Ukraine says Russian army lost two aircraft in past day

Ukraine said the Russian military lost two aircraft over the past 24 hours, including one shot down by Ukrainian air defence systems, Ukrainian officials said.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said Ukrainian forces had downed a Russian aircraft near Snake Island in the Black Sea. He said the aircraft were believed to be a Su-30 and a Su-34.

Russian military bloggers reported that a Su-30 was shot down over the Black Sea by a Patriot surface-to-air missile system. The crews of the aircraft were believed not to have survived.

Separately, Robert Brovdi, commander of a Ukrainian drone warfare unit, said Russia had lost a Su-34 bomber on the Kursk front after it crashed. He did not rule out that a second Su-34 may also have been lost, adding that another aircraft was shot down near Odesa.

Russia has not commented on the claims.