Ukraine downs fifth Russian Su‑25 in Pokrovsk, tension rises

In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the Ukrainian military shot down a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is the fifth Russian aircraft of this type that has been destroyed on the front line in the last month.

"The number of attacks in the Pokrovsk direction has increased to 25. (...) The situation remains tense, with clashes still ongoing in nine locations. According to available information, Ukrainian units destroyed a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft," reads the Facebook statement.

This is the fifth Russian Su-25 attack aircraft that the Ukrainian armed forces have shot down in the past month. On Wednesday, the General Staff reported that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has lost over 350 aircraft.

Designed by the Soviet Union, the Su-25, NATO codename Frogfoot, is a heavily armored attack aircraft that provides close air support to Russian ground forces.

The Su-25 assists Russian forces in conducting intense attacks on many segments of the eastern front, which includes a significant portion of Ukraine's Donetsk region.