When Wagner Group mercenaries advanced towards Moscow they met little resistance on the ground. But the rebels did come under attack from the Russian air force—and shot down a surprising number of their attackers
on June 24th, they met little resistance on the ground. But the rebels did come under attack from the Russian air force—and shot down a surprising number of their attackers. At least one plane and six helicopters were apparently downed. This was aAs with all assessments of military losses since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the only information available is shared or leaked on social media, and has to be treated with caution.
The air force’s most significant loss was a four-engined Il-22M “Coot” Airborne Command Post. This is a modified Ilyushin Il-18 airliner, packed with communications and computing equipment to relay data and to allow officers on board to oversee and control operations below. It has a crew of ten, all of whom were reportedly lost when the plane was brought down.
There are no reports of Russian jets being shot down, though they apparently did bomb the Wagner forces, as dramatic dashcam footage showed. The attack helicopters are armed with rockets, guided anti-tank missiles and cannon. Although designated as transports, the Mi-8s are equipped with rocket pods and have often carried out attacks in Ukraine.
Russian helicopters have taken significant losses in Ukraine and now tend to stay low to avoid surface-to-air missiles. The failure of Russian helicopters to stop, or even apparently to slow, the rapid Wagner advance, may be another sign that their effectiveness against modern anti-aircraft defences is limited.
According to Mr Prigozhin, Wagner’s only casualties from the air attacks were two dead and “several” injured—although images show several destroyed vehicles. Janes, a group of military analysts, estimates that 29 personnel from Russian aerospace forces were killed in the aircraft that were brought down. These deaths may be more politically important than the losses of expensive equipment losses. Nobody mourns an aircraft, but a dead pilot is another matter.
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