Russian troops began to actively use reconnaissance drones in the south of Ukraine, which collect information on the contact line and in the depths of the region.
What are the Russians replacing the A-50 with?
The head of the United Coordination Press Center of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, Col. Natalia Gumenyuk, said on the telethon air that the Russians are actively using drones for surveillance.
They are now trying to replace the A-50 that was unscheduled for the Russians as much as possible. Currently, the activity of enemy reconnaissance drones is exceptionally high in our area of responsibility.
Natalia Gumenyuk
She noted that over the past day, more than a hundred drones of this type were recorded along the line of combat and in deeper regions.
In this way, the Russians are trying to collect information that the A-50 will no longer transmit.
And it is precisely because of this that we see the non-specific activity of tactical aviation, which is more confined to the remote areas of the Black Sea, also concentrating its efforts on collecting relevant operational data, — Humenyuk said.
Downing of the A-50 reconnaissance plane
On February 23, Ukrainian fighters downed a Russian A-50U aircraft over the Sea of Azov. The destruction of a strategic plane of the Russian army took place as part of a special operation of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) and the Air Force.
The Russians used such an air command post for long-range radar detection, control and guidance for strikes on Ukraine with missiles from strategic aviation.
According to the DIU chief, Let. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the operation for destroying Russian A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft, was prepared for two weeks.
On January 14, the AFU downed a Russian A-50, an IL-22 aircraft, over the Sea of Azov.
