Ukraine 'lost' MiG-29 fighter jet as Russia claims attack on airbase
Ukraine lost a MiG-29 fighter jet on Aug. 16, according to former Air Force Spokesperson Yurii Ihnat.
"Unfortunately, today we lost a MiG-29. Luckily, everyone is alive. War," Ihnat said, without elaborating where and how the aircraft was destroyed.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Moscow had attacked an airbase in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with an Iskander-M ballistic missile, destroying a Ukrainian Su-24 bomber that was being equipped with Storm Shadow missiles.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Several explosions were reported in the city of Dnipro on Aug. 16. Serhii Lysak, region's governor, said that Ukrainian forces shot down two Russian missiles over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The attacks caused "several fires," he said, without elaborating. No casualties were reported.
In July, Russian forces carried out several attacks against military airfields in Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. The strike resulted in "some losses," according to Ihnat.
Some experts linked an uptick in Russian strikes to the anticipated arrival of F-16 aircraft, the first batch of which arrived in Ukraine in late July.
Ukraine has carried out a number of strikes against airbases in an effort to weaken the more powerful Russian Air Force. Ukrainian forces hit four Russian airbases overnight on Aug. 14 in the largest attack on airfields in the war, Ukraine's General Staff claimed.
Kateryna Denisova
