On June 7, the Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet, according to a statement released on Telegram. The military stated that the successful operation took place in the direction of Kursk and shared aerial footage showing the fighter jet being downed with wreckage on fire.
No further details about the incident were provided by the Ukrainian military. They did not specify how the aircraft was shot down or the exact location of the event. The Russian military has not yet made any comments on the matter, and the claims made by the Ukrainian military have yet to be independently verified.
In late April, Russian forces forced Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the Kursk region. It was reported by the Moscow Times that the Su-35 is one of Russia’s most advanced fourth-generation fighter jets. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it is believed that Russia has lost at least 7 Su-35 fighter jets due to instances such as being mistakenly hit by friendly fire, crashing, or being shot down by the Ukrainian military.
Last week, Ukraine’s SBU security agency launched a large-scale drone attack against over 40 Russian military aircraft, damaging or destroying Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers. Russia had been using these bombers to launch long-range missiles at Ukraine.
The intense fighting between the two countries is ongoing. According to officials from Russia and Ukraine, missile and bomb attacks were carried out by Russia on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday night, resulting in 3 deaths and 22 injuries. In retaliation, Ukrainian drones attacked the Moscow region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on Friday that Russian air defense forces shot down three drones attempting to attack Moscow. He did not provide further details about the incident but mentioned that emergency response teams were handling the wreckage of the downed drones.
Additionally, the Russian aviation authority stated that operations at Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports in the Moscow region were temporarily suspended to ensure flight safety. Flights have since resumed after a brief halt.