After Ukraine is shot down: Russia grounds A50 reconnaissance planes These are the best hospitals in the world – a Swiss hospital in the top 10

According to British information, the planes will be temporarily grounded shortly after the second crash of a Russian Beriev A-50 reconnaissance aircraft. This is likely to remain the case until the reasons for the loss can be clarified and the threat to the aircraft from Ukrainian air defenses can be reduced, the British Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.

Why is that important?

“The loss of this ability to direct Russian air operations on a daily basis will most likely lead to a significant deterioration in the situational awareness of flight crews,” the London report said. “This is a capacity gap that Russia can hardly afford in the contested airspace of eastern and southern Ukraine.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said a week ago that the shooting down of the reconnaissance plane over southern Russia was the result of “cooperation with partners.” In mid-January, Ukraine shot down one of its early-warning reconnaissance planes, packed with expensive electronics and crewed by specially trained experts.

To fill the gap left by the A-50, Russia will likely have to deploy other aircraft and take more risks to provide the necessary air support to ground forces in Ukraine, the British ministry said. As soon as the machines are used again, the pressure on materials and personnel will increase because the fleet becomes overloaded. Russia may try to reuse decommissioned A-50 parts.

The British Ministry of Defense publishes daily information about the progress of the war since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began more than two years ago. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.

(dsc/sda/dpa)