Russian Su-34 Pilots Got ‘Cocky’ Before Losing Three Bombers in a Day: Kyiv

The Ukrainian Air Force has described how Russian pilots got “cocky” before Kyiv’s forces downed three Russian fighter bombers as they tried to drop bombs behind enemy lines.

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had responded in kind to a message they found on the remains of a downed Shahed kamikaze drone launched by Russian forces which said, “die f****ers.” Moscow has used the Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) extensively in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“What a great idea! Here’s our answer! ” Oleshchuk wrote in a Telegram post which said that at around noon on Thursday “three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers were downed!

“Eternal flight, ‘brothers’!” Added the mocking message to the Russian pilots.

Ukraine did not disclose how the Russians planes were downed. However, Russian military bloggers expressed concern about Ukrainian air defenses downing the Russian aircraft, with one version noting that Kyiv had probably used the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Colonel Yurii Ihnat gave more details on the Ukrainian Armiia (Army) TV, saying that the operation was “lightning fast and with high precision—just the way the (Air Force) commander prefers.”

“They got cocky, came closer, tried to strike our troops with guided bombs deeper in the defense positions,” he said, describing how the 1,100-pound KAB aerial bombs can fly up to 16 miles into Ukrainian defenses.

“But when you want to strike and are itching to strike, you have to fly closer,” he said, according to Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda. “They took a risk—unsuccessfully. Hopefully, the Russians will take more such risks, and we will see more downed Russian Sushki [Su fighter-bombers].”

He called it a “brilliantly planned operation,” saying a similar strike has “not happened for a long time,” and noted that such a fighter “cannot cost less than $50 million.” “This is the lowest price,” Ihnat said. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

Russia has dozens of Sukhoi jets which have a crew of two pilots and are used by the Russian military to strike Ukraine with guided bombs, guided missiles, and other weapons being used to attack Kherson Oblast and other regions of Ukraine.

It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that the Netherlands will start preparing 18 F-16 jets for supply to Ukraine, after the ally teamed up with Denmark in spearheading F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots.

A training center for Ukrainian F-16 pilots officially opened in Romania on November 13. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a post on X that before delivery, the aircraft required an export permit and needed to meet requirements for personnel and infrastructure.