Anti-aircraft defense active at Tokmak
London: Russia shoots down its own fighter jet
October 4, 2023, 9:49 a.m
On the way to the Black Sea, the occupied city of Tokmak is a stopover for the Ukrainian troops. The Russian army is therefore massively securing the city – but not just against the enemy: According to British information, the Russian anti-aircraft defense system shoots down one of its own fighter jets.
According to British estimates, Russian anti-aircraft defense accidentally shot down one of its own fighter jets near the occupied town of Tokmak in southern Ukraine. It’s about that fifth Su-35S aircraft lost, which is Russia’s most advanced fighter aircraft in widespread use, the British Ministry of Defense said. In total, Russia has lost around 90 aircraft since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine.
The strategically important city of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region is heavily fortified. Russian command posts are often housed there, commanding one of the most hotly contested sections of the front.
“These headquarters are typically protected by special short and medium-range air defense systems,” it said in London. These are “very likely at the highest level of readiness” as Ukraine continues to carry out effective strikes against such locations.
The British Ministry of Defense has been publishing daily information on the course of the war since the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine began in February 2022. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.