Image source: topwar.ru
The Ukrainian Air Force commented on publications that a Saab 340 AEW&C reconnaissance aircraft supplied by Sweden was flying over the western part of Ukraine. This aircraft "lit up" on the online maps of monitoring aviation platforms, which displayed the aircraft in the sky over the Lviv region under the interesting designation Welcome.
The head of the press service of the Ukrainian Air Force Yu.Ignat said today that "it was not a Swedish Saab 340 AEW&C."
According to Ignat, "in fact, the flight was carried out by an An-26 aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine":
Image source: topwar.ru
It is not reported exactly what task the AN-26 performed in the skies over the western part of Ukraine, if, of course, it was really him.
At the same time, another question is being discussed: did the Russian air defense crews have the opportunity to shoot down this side?
The point of its flight path closest to the borders of Russia (if the monitoring resources correctly displayed this trajectory) was located at a distance of 550 km. Accordingly, the nearest point of the Russian Federation is the southwest of the Bryansk region.
Image source: topwar.ru
At this distance, the use of the S-400 air defense system will not bring success, since the stated maximum range of hitting a target is 400 km. To effectively defeat a target at a distance of 550 km, the S-500 air defense system would be suitable, but whether it is brought directly to the border of Ukraine is an open question. If it had been summed up, it is unlikely that the Americans or the British would not have leaked this information to the Ukrainians. Accordingly, if the An-26 aircraft (or, if Ignat is lying, the Saab 340) performed the flight without problems, then the enemy knew that they would not reach it from the territory of Russia, and they would not strike from the territory of Belarus, from where it was three times closer.
