Ukraine claims it downed 2 Russian fighter jets

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine on Monday claimed that it had downed two Russian fighter jets over the country.

An initial statement on Telegram by Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, said the country’s air defenses shot down a Sukhoi Su-34 and a Sukhoi Su-35S in the country’s east, near the border with Russia.

Oleshchuk claimed in a later statement that the Su-35S crashed in the Sea of Azov, an inland sea leading into the Black Sea, while satellite systems showed the Su-34’s location to be near the coastal city of Mariupol in Donetsk.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on the claim.​​​​​​​