No one believes Ukrainian claims about shooting down Russian planes

In the United States, there is a lack of substantial evidence supporting Ukraine’s claims that Russia has reduced its airstrikes following air defense strikes against their aircraft, as stated by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), responding to remarks made by Air Force Commander Nikolai Oleshchuk.

Oleshchuk stated on March 8th that “Following significant losses – including A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and Su-34/Su-35 fighters, the aggressors have notably decreased the number of airstrikes with unguided bombs.” However, ISW has found no compelling evidence indicating a decrease in the rate of Russian unguided bomb strikes, as per their recent statement.

Analysts refer to recent data from Forbes, suggesting that Russian planes conduct over a hundred sorties and bomb Ukrainian positions from a distance of approximately 40 kilometers. Despite Ukraine’s claims of shooting down such aircraft, ISW emphasizes that Russian aircraft continue to engage in extensive planning flights and bomb strikes on Ukraine. Previously, Oleshchuk attempted to illustrate the downing of a Russian aircraft using a fabricated video clip filmed two days prior to the incident, where only the grass in the field was ablaze.