The Ukrainian military says it brought down one of Russia’s most expensive fighter jets over the Kursk region in southwestern Russia on Wednesday — as Ukrainian ground units continue to move into the area as part of a shocking counter-invasion that seems to have caught the Russians completely off-guard.
Video footage of the downed SU-34 — a high-tech fighter-bomber that costs about $36 million each — has circulated on social media and appears to show fire and debris from the destroyed jet, according to Business Insider.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military confirmed the kill in a post on Telegram.
“Defense forces of Ukraine destroyed the enemy Su-34,” Ukraine’s General Staff wrote. “The sky over Kurshchyna became clearer.”
It’s not the first time the Ukrainians shot down that model of plane, which is known by NATO as the “fullback” and reportedly carries sensors, avionics and smart weapons.
Back in February, the country’s military said it took down four Su-34s in just one week — and a total of 10 Russian jets in 10 days, Business Insider said.
Word of the splashed fighter comes just as Ukrainian forces continued to make serious headway in their invasion of Kursk — President Volodymyr Zelensky said his troops had seized 74 settlements there as of Tuesday.
The Ukrainian army now controls about 400 square miles of Russian territory — an area about half the size of Rhode Island.
“We continue to advance further in the Kursk region, from one to two kilometers in various areas since the start of the day,” Zelensky said Wednesday. “We have captured more than 100 Russian servicemen during this period.”
The Su-34 debuted in 1990, when the Soviet Union was in the midst of a gigantic collapse that shook the pillars of the world, according to the National Interest, a magazine centered on national defense and security.
The fourth-generation fighter-bomber entered official service more than 20 years later, and has since served as a formidable part of Russia’s Air Force.
It’s also played a key role in Moscow’s repeated offensives against its southern neighbor, dropping glide bombs on Ukrainian targets from as far away as 25 miles, according to Newsweek.
But it has also suffered losses during the invasion: Ukrainian officials claim to have downed more than three dozen of the planes as they resist the Russian bear, which first sauntered into their country more than two years ago.
Ukraine believes Russia likely has a total of about 140 Su-34s, Newsweek said.
