MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – According to pro-Russian military blogs, several pilots of the Russian Air Force died in the uprising of the Wagner mercenaries. The information on the number of fatalities varied between 13 and more than 20 soldiers, as the independent Internet portal currenttime reported on Sunday. A total of six helicopters and a reconnaissance plane were shot down by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private army. There was no confirmation of this from the Russian authorities. The information could not initially be verified by an independent party.
The military blog Rybar complained that among the helicopters shot down were three Mi-8s used for electronic warfare, which are already lacking at the front. In addition, an Il-18 transport aircraft crashed, on board of which a command post was set up. All crew members died. Air Force losses are higher than during the Ukrainian counter-offensive at the front.
On Saturday, Prigozhin made conflicting statements about clashes with the Russian air force. So he first announced the shooting down of a helicopter. When he later explained his task, he claimed to have ended the uprising without bloodshed./bal/DP/nas