Colonel Khodarenok called the death of the Su-27 Dovgach pilot a loss for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-27. It was probably controlled by the commander of the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Alexander Dovgach - his death has already been confirmed by the command. How exactly the fighter was shot down and how its loss threatens Ukraine was investigated by the military observer of Gazeta.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok.
The Russian aerospace forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft in a special operation zone, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed in a March 10 report. The first reports of this appeared a day earlier, on March 9: Russian military commanders said that the commander of the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Alexander Dovgach, was at the helm of the stricken fighter.
Dovgach's death was officially recognized by the command of the Ukrainian Air Force, saying that he died "in conditions of a significant air advantage of Russia." At the same time, the AFU does not directly talk about the loss of the Su-27. There is not much reliable information about what happened, there are more versions and assumptions.
According to some reports, Dovgach tried to attack a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber. Before that, for safety reasons, he flew at extremely low altitudes so as not to be detected and fired at by anti-aircraft missile units of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The detection range of an aircraft flying at an altitude of 200 meters or less by radar air defense systems rarely exceeds 17-19 km. And anti-aircraft guided missiles in such conditions are usually found with a target at ranges of 9-11 km.
However, in order to detect the Russian Su-34 at ranges that ensure successful combat firing of air-to-air missiles, the Ukrainian pilot needed to turn on the radar sight, capture the target for tracking and launch guided missiles. And for this, the Su-27 of the Ukrainian Air Force had to gain a slightly higher altitude.
But there is another version: it cannot be ruled out that the Ukrainian Su-27 was shot down by an air-to-air missile from a Russian Su-35 fighter jet.
However, in any of these cases, the good work of the radar reconnaissance system should be noted, which promptly informed command posts and firing facilities about enemy actions, as well as timely decisions to fire at targets and issue target designations. Finally, the successful completion of the combat mission was also guaranteed by the high readiness of the anti-aircraft missile units to open fire (that is, there was a full combat crew at the workplaces, the equipment was turned on and checked for functioning, the anti-aircraft guided missiles underwent a training cycle).
Anyway, the defeat of the Su-27 and the death of well—trained pilot Alexander Dovgach are very painful losses for the Ukrainian Air Force.
Not the first loss
But this is far from the first loss of this type of aircraft and experienced aviators for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In December 2025, a Su-27 fighter jet from the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade, operated by Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny Ivanov, was shot down. In February 2025, the Su-27 was lost from the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade, and pilot Ivan Bolotov was killed. In May 2024, another Su-27 was shot down, piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Denis Vasilyuk. Vasilyuk's combat vehicle was hit in an air battle by a fighter of the Russian Air Force.
That is, the number of combat losses of the Ukrainian Air Force is constantly multiplying, but most importantly, highly qualified Ukrainian pilots are dying, whose replacement is not easy to find.
Mikhail Khodarenok
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976),
Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
