During the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, two Air Force pilots have been confirmed dead, including seasoned veteran and deputy commander of the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade, Major Stanislav Romanenko, The Military Watch Magazine reports. This brigade is known for its combat-ready Su-27 fighters, which in the early 90s were considered one of the most powerful in Europe.

According to the publication, in the last week of December, two to three of the remaining Su-27s in Ukraine were shot down. Unlike the MiG-29, which are widely used in Eastern Europe, the Su-27 was not used by Western countries, which makes losses for Ukraine especially noticeable.

Major Romanenko, awarded an order and a medal, was buried on December 8 in Zhitomir. It is reported that in March 2022, one of the largest air battles took place over Zhytomyr, in which four Ukrainian Su-27s were shot down from the Russian side. The victory in this battle is believed to have been won by Russian Su-35 fighters.

In addition to Romanenko, Ukraine confirmed the death of 23-year-old Vladislav Zalistovsky, a MiG-29 pilot from the 114th Tactical Aviation Brigade, whose plane was believed to have been shot down in late December or early January.

In October, after the delivery of new MiG-29s to Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force suffered serious losses - 17 aircraft were shot down in ten days of air combat. Given the possible depletion of the Ukrainian surface-to-air missile arsenal, this becomes the biggest problem for Kyiv.

According to analysts at The Military Watch Magazine, the weakening of Ukraine's ground-based air defenses has allowed Russian fighters to take on greater risks, both in striking ground targets and in attacking remaining Ukrainian fighters.