File image.
Russian drone operators with the 50th “Varyag” Brigade reportedly chased down and destroyed a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet as it came in to land at Vasylkiv Air Base in the Kyiv region, according to video that surfaced online September 9.
The footage shows a drone dodging the MiG-29 in midair, followed by what is said to be the same aircraft burning on the ground at the air base after the strike. It was not clear whether the drone seen in pursuit was the one that hit the jet, since several drones took part in the attack on the base.
The strike was carried out with “Geran-4 Seeker” drones, described as jet-powered, one-way attack drones capable of exceeding 500 kilometers per hour, a speed that makes them difficult to intercept. The drones have a reported range of more than 850 kilometers and are equipped with an artificial intelligence-powered optical targeting system.
Ukraine had about 40 MiG-29A, MiG-29S, MiG-29MU1 and MiG-29MU2 jets in service before the start of the Russian special military operation. A year into the fighting, Ukraine received more than two dozen MiG-29G and MiG-29AS jets from Poland and Slovakia. It also took over several Azerbaijani MiG-29A 9.13 jets that had been sent for maintenance before the war started.
Ukraine has lost at least 55 MiG-29s, including four described as “damaged,” since the war began, according to a Wikipedia list of aviation shootdowns and accidents that is based on visual evidence or official confirmation. That tally does not include the latest reported loss, but suggests the Ukrainian air force has lost nearly all of its MiG-29s.
Ukraine’s government rarely acknowledges that its fighter jets have been shot down by Russia. It typically reports only losses that have already become public through footage posted on social media, and attributes those losses to technical failure.
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