Russian aviation’s losing streak continues, with three aircraft and their crews lost near St Petersburg (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,723)
A night that cost Russia three of its own aircraft, a Ukrainian pilot felling nine drones with a single F-16 sortie, and a supposed humanitarian corridor that could help Moscow tighten its grip on Kostiantynivka together paint a war where every tactical success hides a dangerous twist.
A MiG-31, Ka-52 and Mi-8 crashed while repelling an air raid, prompting speculation that the friend-or-foe identification system was compromised. Reciprocal air raids have become so commonplace that it is impossible to report on their consequences every day.
It remains the case that while Russia mainly attacks energy infrastructure, Ukraine primarily targets refineries and oil-industry facilities. Both armies are inflicting serious damage on each other. Ukrainian cities, however, are suffering far more.
On Wednesday, however, a particular air raid targeted the area around St Petersburg, including the Ust-Luga oil terminal. The entire area has been the target of intensive air raids. Among other things, Ukraine this week struck a Russian missile corvette in the Baltic Sea , while several radars were reportedly hit on Wednesday:
🔥Three Russian radar systems were struck during Ukraine’s massive drone attack on Leningrad Oblast on November 11, according to Dosye Shpiona. ●Nebo-SVU long-range surveillance radar ●40V6 mobile radar tower ●Sopka-2 airspace surveillance radar complex pic.twitter.com/qUtqSxZYCk
But the greatest interest was generated by the crash of three military aircraft, in which seven crew members died. “Defending our skies has never cost so much in a single night,” the Voevoda Broadcasts channel wrote .
“Defending the skies over St Petersburg from drone attacks has cost us dearly today. Very, very, very dearly,” the well-known aviation channel Fighterbomber admitted on Wednesday evening.
It gave no details, but this time others did so on its behalf.
Roman Pataj is Head of the Opinion section at Denník N and, since 2022, the author of the Ukrainian Battlefield update. He graduated in political science and has worked as a journalist since 2002.
