Ukrainian war correspondent Andrii Tsaplienko claims that the russian occupiers have flown an A-50 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft into the sky for the first time in a long time.
Tsaplienko wrote about this on his Telegram channel on Monday, March 10.
"The enemy has flown an A-50U airborne early warning and control aircraft into the sky for the first time in a long time," Tsaplienko's post says.
He did not specify where he got the information about this.
Tsaplienko added that the last time the russians flew an aircraft of this type into the sky was in early September 2024.
The war correspondent suggested that the A-50 of the invaders is probably conducting radar reconnaissance, which may indicate preparations for missile attack.
At the time of publication, the news in the Defense Forces of Ukraine did not confirm or deny this information.
The A-50 is a airborne early warning and control aircraft based on the Il-76 military transport aircraft.
The aircraft is used to detect and accompany air and surface targets, as well as to guide aircraft to ground, air or sea targets.
According to information from open sources, as of 2024, the russian army had ten A-50 aircraft of various modifications.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in February of this year, the russians unusually acknowledged the loss of the A-50 aircraft, which the Ukrainian military shot down over the Sea of Azov on February 23, 2024.
In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the occupiers have lost two A-50 aircraft. The first was destroyed on January 15, 2024. It fell into the Sea of Azov near the occupied Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Region.
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