Hindustani78
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Emergence of Kremlin-backed separatist air force may open way for covert Russian air invasion
Jan. 27, 2015
An L-29 trainer aircraft operated by the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic. Kremlin-backed troops in Donbas have set up their own air force.
Ukrainian authorities officially confirmed for the first time on Jan. 27 that Russian-backed troops in Donbas have an air force.
Speculation about the possible emergence of a separatist air force has been going on for months. Analysts have predicted that Kremlin-backed mercenaries and insurgents would get aircraft and possibly pilots from Russia and camouflage them as their own air force, dramatically boosting their military capability.
The Defense Ministry said Ukrainian troops had destroyed one separatist L-39 military trainer aircraft, two An-2 agricultural aircraft, one Yak-52 trainer airplane and four Mi-24 military helicopters.
Borys Filatov, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, wrote on Facebook that the aircraft had been destroyed by Uragan multiple rocket launchers in the village of Verbovaya Balka near Donetsk. This was done to “prevent them from fooling around and thinking of getting (aircraft) from Mordor,” he said, referring to the popular nickname for Russia derived from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels.
He also said the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic also used to have an air force but it had been eradicated by Ukrainian troops.
Russia’s LifeNews site reported earlier that the republic’s first aircraft took off on Jan. 17. The leadership of the Luhansk People’s Republic said on Jan. 19 that they had created an air force.
Kremlin-backed troops’ takeover of Luhansk Airport in September 2014 and their ongoing attempts to seize Donetsk Airport have been attributed by analysts to their desire to use them as military air fields. However, these airports have been heavily damaged by fighting and are unlikely to be used for aircraft.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said last year that Russian military aircraft had crossed the border into Ukraine several times.
Jan. 27, 2015
An L-29 trainer aircraft operated by the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic. Kremlin-backed troops in Donbas have set up their own air force.
Ukrainian authorities officially confirmed for the first time on Jan. 27 that Russian-backed troops in Donbas have an air force.
Speculation about the possible emergence of a separatist air force has been going on for months. Analysts have predicted that Kremlin-backed mercenaries and insurgents would get aircraft and possibly pilots from Russia and camouflage them as their own air force, dramatically boosting their military capability.
The Defense Ministry said Ukrainian troops had destroyed one separatist L-39 military trainer aircraft, two An-2 agricultural aircraft, one Yak-52 trainer airplane and four Mi-24 military helicopters.
Borys Filatov, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, wrote on Facebook that the aircraft had been destroyed by Uragan multiple rocket launchers in the village of Verbovaya Balka near Donetsk. This was done to “prevent them from fooling around and thinking of getting (aircraft) from Mordor,” he said, referring to the popular nickname for Russia derived from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels.
He also said the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic also used to have an air force but it had been eradicated by Ukrainian troops.
Russia’s LifeNews site reported earlier that the republic’s first aircraft took off on Jan. 17. The leadership of the Luhansk People’s Republic said on Jan. 19 that they had created an air force.
Kremlin-backed troops’ takeover of Luhansk Airport in September 2014 and their ongoing attempts to seize Donetsk Airport have been attributed by analysts to their desire to use them as military air fields. However, these airports have been heavily damaged by fighting and are unlikely to be used for aircraft.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said last year that Russian military aircraft had crossed the border into Ukraine several times.
