This was stated by the commander of long-range aviation Sergei Kobylash.

“This year, most long-range aviation flight crews gained combat experience during a special military operation,” he said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

Kobylash noted that for the first time the crews from the most trained young flight personnel received combat experience.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Russian Aerospace Forces fighters shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft and a Mi-8 military helicopter in the Donetsk People's Republic.