Ukraine’s air force claimed it deceived Russian forces into targeting dummy warplanes and air defense systems. Air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk stated that mock-ups were placed at an airfield near Kryvyi Rih and in a district of Odesa. He posted a video from a Russian reconnaissance drone, showing Russian Iskander missiles hitting the mock-ups. Russia’s defense ministry had previously shared similar footage, claiming it had used Iskander missiles to destroy a Ukrainian Mig-29 fighter jet at Dovhyntseve airfield.
Oleshchuk wrote, “Air force personnel conducted passive defense measures! Thank you to everyone who helped with the top-quality mock-ups of aircraft and SAM systems. The enemy now has fewer Iskander missiles, and more mock-ups will be delivered. Of course, both we and the enemy have losses of equipment and people. But neither side is talking about it publicly. It is clear why!”
Read more: Air Strike Cuts Power To 100,000 People In Ukraine
Though Ukraine rarely shares such information, Oleshchuk made an exception “to show the public that not everything is straightforward.”
On Friday, Russian strikes left over 100,000 households without power in the Sumy region in northern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported infrastructure damage from the attacks, and the strikes also cut off water to the provincial capital by damaging power lines that feed its pumping system.
