Damaged Russian Il-22 plane cannot be repaired despite reaching airfield in Anapa – Ukraine’s Air Force

The Russian Il-22 plane, shot down by the Ukrainian military over the Sea of Azov, could have reached the airfield. However, it cannot be restored.

Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat stated this on Facebook.

According to Ihnat, the Il-22 pilots could still bring the plane to the airfield in the Russian city of Anapa and make an emergency landing.

"It seems that the Il-22 did reach Anapa—a living bastard. But, as you can see, the trough is "not subject to restoration." Therefore, no matter what, the target is destroyed, resuscitation will not help. The plane was on fire, and among the crew, there are wounded; I hope there are killed", he wrote under the photo.

He also stated that the priority target during the operation was still the A-50 reconnaissance aircraft.

"The A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft was and is our priority target. And until today, the destruction of this aircraft seemed to be an overwhelming task for the Air Force. And here, the Il-22 (air command post) got quite a beating as well," he noted.

^{Photo: Fighterbomber Telegram channel}

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It should be noted that on the evening of January 14, the Ukrainian military shot down two Russian planes over the Sea of Azov.

The Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, has already officially confirmed the destruction of the Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and the Il-22 air control point of the enemy.

Ihnat noted that the A-50 aircraft was and is a priority target for the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

The Air Force of Ukraine's armed forces said that this was a kind of revenge for the shelling of Dnipro that happened on January 14, 2023.

It should be noted that Russia may have nine units of A-50, but not all are combat-ready.

Moreover, on December 22, the Ukrainian military destroyed three Su-34 aircraft of the Russian Federation. It happened on the southern front.

Subsequently, the spokesman of the Air Force of Ukraine's armed forces, Yuriy Ihnat, noted that the Su-34 had long been included in Russia's loss statistics. According to him, this aircraft is one of the newest aircraft in service with the Russian army and can cost from 50 million dollars.

Russian Su-34 bombers were allegedly shot down in the south of Ukraine by a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system that was dropped closer to the front, namely in the Kherson region.

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said that the Ukrainian military had been "hunting" for Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers in the south for a long time.

On December 24, the forces and means of air defense of Ukraine destroyed 2 Su-34 and Su-30 fighter-bombers.

It should be noted that the Russian Air Force lost more aircraft only during the Prigozhin rebellion. Then, during the entire war period, the Wagner PMC became the first to shoot down the Il-22, of which there were no more than ten units in Russia. Thus, in Russia, during the march on Moscow, the Wagner members shot down a valuable and rare Il-22 aircraft of the Russian army, which became the first case of the liquidation of such aircraft during the war.