Wagner Forces Shoot Down Russian Airborne Command Post Inside Russia
Tony Osborne June
26, 2023
Imagery
published on social media has confirmed that a Russian Air Force Ilyushin
Il-22M airborne command post platform was among several military aircraft shot
down inside Russia in an apparent attempted coup by the Wagner Private Military
Co.
Wagner-operated
air defenses brought down the four-engine turboprop on June 24 near the city of
Voronezh in southwestern Russia as the paramilitary group’s forces made an
advance toward Moscow in what President Vladimir Putin described as an
“internal betrayal” of the Russian people. All 10 crew on the Il-22 were
killed.
Wagner
forces also bought down several Mil Mil-8/17 transport helicopters, including:
a specialized electronic warfare version; a Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopter; and
a Mil Mi-35 attack helicopter being used to to stave off Wagner’s advance.
Yevgeny
Prigozhin, Wagner’s owner, triggered the rebellion, aiming his ire at the head
of the Russian military, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, and Defense Minister Sergei
Shoigu.
Prigozhin
publicly blamed the two men for the conflict in Ukraine which has seen thousands
of Wagner personnel killed. In a video published online on June 23, he said
justification for the war in Ukraine was a lie, and just an excuse for "a
small group of scumbags" to promote themselves and deceive both the public
and Putin.
Hours later,
Wagner forces seized the city of Rostov-on-Don and then launched what Prigozhin
called a “march for justice” toward Moscow, during which the aircraft and
helicopters were engaged. Later that day, he halted the advance 200 mi. short
of the Russian capital, agreeing to an undisclosed deal apparently brokered by
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. The agreement calls for Prigozhin to
exile himself in Belarus. Prigozhin’s whereabouts are unknown.
U.S.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the events of June 25 had been a
“direct challenge to [President] Putin’s authority,” and suggested there were
“real cracks” in Putin’s rule.
The loss of
the Il-22M—a military conversion of the Il-18 airliner—represents a significant
loss in the Russian Air Force’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
fleet. It is the second such loss in five years. Back in September 2018, an
Il-20—an electronic intelligence version of the Il-18—was shot down
accidentally by Syrian air defenses as it returned from a patrol flight over
the Mediterranean Sea.
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