Su-57 destruction is serious blow to Russian Aerospace Forces - national security expert

He shared the information on Espreso TV.

"The Su-57 is the latest development of Russian aviation, although this aircraft entered the production market back in 2010. Now we can talk about a few dozen Su-57s, maybe two dozen. Because Russia does produce them, they are trying to keep up the pace of production of these aircraft, but I think the pace is slowing down because the components of the Su-57 are largely Western. This is a modern aircraft worth up to $100 million. Of course, its destruction is a serious blow to the Air Force or, as the Russians call it, the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation," said Ivan Varchenko.

According to him, Russia hides Su-57s far away from Ukrainian territory, and practically never flies these aircraft into Ukrainian airspace.

"This defeat caused great damage to Russian aviation. The Russians position the Su-57 as a fifth-generation aircraft, and we understand that this is an aircraft that can hover in the air. The Russians have lost a lot, and now they will pull these aircraft away from the Russian-Ukrainian front line. And then the Su-57s will become scrap metal, waiting for their time to naturally disappear, because, as we can see, their effect is minimal. On the one hand, Russia is afraid to use Su-57s in order not to lose them, but on the other hand, they are losing them anyway, and the further they go, the more they lose them," the Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman emphasized.

Varchenko added that Russia planned to produce about 80 Su-57s by 2027, and even allocated some funds in the military-industrial complex, but the war made its own adjustments.

• On June 8, a Russian Su-57 multi-purpose fighter jet was hit at the Akhtubinsk airfield in the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, 589 kilometers from the contact line.
• On June 9, Dmytro Zhmailo, co-founder and executive director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, said that the Su-57 was most likely irreparably damaged.