On 29 October, the soldiers of a Ukrainian border guard unit destroyed a Russian combat aircraft near sieged Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, using a MANPAD missile, Border Guard Service spokesman Andrii Demchenko told RBC-Ukraine. Initial reports suggest that the aircraft was the Su-25 ground attack jet.
As part of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, border guards continue to repel Russian attacks in the Avdiivka sector, the hottest spot on the eastern front.
“Today, a border unit’s MANPADS crew shot down an enemy combat aircraft, preliminarily a SU-25 attack aircraft. The air defense missile launched by the border guards from the portable complex hit the air target,” the State Border Guard Service spokesman added.
Demchenko stated that after the hit, the Russian plane started to smoke, began to lose altitude, and disappeared behind the horizon.
In the previous weeks, Russia lost several Su-25 attack aircraft in the area of Avdiivka amid its ongoing efforts to pocket and overrun the Ukrainian-held city.
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