Ukrainian air defense downs Il-22 aircraft of Russian military

Russian media admitted that the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces had hit one of the Russian Il-22 (Coot-B) airborne command post aircraft that could have been serving as a “flying command post” in April 2022.

Russian media stated that 2 missiles for the Buk SAM system had struck the craft at an altitude of 7600 meters, Defense Express writes.

The first one turned the body of the aircraft into a sieve and the second one damaged the tail, although the crew managed to perform a “dodging manoeuvre”, according to Defence24.

Some 200 holes appeared on the fuel tanks, engine and propellers of the Il-22 aircraft. Moreover, there was a depressurization of the cabin. The craft landed in Rostov-on-Don (Russia). Russian media stated that the plane had been fully repaired.

Oryx (Dutch open-source intelligence defence analysis website) also reported on the Il-22 aircraft damage. But the photo that the source provided is questionable. The Google Earth image for April 3, 2022, shows the craft without any damage.

If Russia hadn’t admitted it, such visual support would be suspicious. This demonstrates how hard and specific the evaluation of losses based on open-source data can be.