 Ukraine's defence forces down three Russian Su-34 jets in a day. Ukraine's air force has destroyed two more Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter bombers. Lieutenant General Mikhail Oleshtuk, Ukraine's air force commander, said this on Telegram. It seems they don't get it. Russian pilots are not drawing any conclusions. Two more Su-34s belonging to occupiers were destroyed on the Avdivka and Maria-Paul fronts on the 29th of February. We are marching to victory together, he said. On the morning of the 29th of February, Ukraine's air force commander reported that the defenders destroyed a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber on the eastern front. Given the current information, as of the 29th of February, Ukraine's defence forces have downed 13 Russian aircraft since the beginning of the month. In particular, the Ukrainian armed forces already destroyed some Su-34. Among the destroyed Russian aircraft are 10 Su-34s, two Su-35s and one A-50. Most of them were shot down on the eastern front. According to Yuri Inat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force, the massive downing of Russian aircraft in February 2024 was a response by the Ukrainian defence forces to the increased presence of enemy aircraft in eastern Ukraine. Moreover, to extend the range of guided aviation bombs, Russian pilots are compelled to fly closer to the target as these bombs glide without their own propulsion. Consequently, they lose velocity during the flight. Hence, to reach distant targets with these bombs, Russian pilots must take greater risks which inevitably leads to situations like today's, he further noted. Russian army uses more old Soviet T-54 tanks to attack Ukrainian troops. As reported by Ossent Technical on February 18th, 2024, Russia deployed a T-55, initially adopted into service in 1958, to attack Ukrainian positions around Robertine. However, upon closer analysis, this T-55, distinguished by a cage but lacking ERA, was likely an older T-54 adopted in 1946, as indicated by the absence of a smoke extractor at the gun's end and the likely presence of a wind cover on the turret according to army recognition. According to Russian media, the T-54 and T-55 tanks have been utilised in Ukraine in unconventional ways. Instead of serving as traditional battle tanks, the T-55s are primarily used as 100mm self-propelled guns providing indirect fire support from concealed positions akin to artillery rather than engaging directly in offensive battlefield roles. However, it appears that the T-55 and now even the older T-54 are being employed by Russian forces to assault Ukrainian positions operating both as tanks and troop transports in a manner reminiscent of the Second World War. Soldiers are transported on the tanks and dismount as they near enemy lines assuming the T-55 can reach such proximity. The persistent use of the T-54 stroke 55 underscores questions about Russia's strategic and logistical decisions. This may reflect a scarcity of modern equipment or a deliberate tactic to preserve advanced resources for other conflict facets. It could also demonstrate a practical approach leveraging available assets for specific purposes thus compensating for material losses in Ukraine. Despite increased production, new material output has yet to fully offset frontline losses prompting the utilisation of older stock as a straightforward, though not necessarily efficient solution. Ironically, Russia's tank strategy appears to shift towards updating or deploying models more suited to a museum than a modern battlefield such as the T-54, T-55, T-62, BTR-50 and BTR-90 faced with significant challenges in replacing the vast number of lost T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks on the Ukrainian front. Russia seems compelled to scour old depots, even graveyards, to refurbish increasingly dated tanks. These are then normally relegated to secondary roles like fire support or makeshift fortifications echoing tactics from the Second World War. Russians resort to alternatives for reconnaissance following A-50 aircraft loss. In the south of Ukraine, there is an extremely high activity of Russian reconnaissance drones. They are collecting information along the contact line and in the depths of the region according to Natalya Hemenyuk, head of the Joint Coordination Press Centre of the Southern Defence Forces of Ukraine. According to Hemenyuk, this was caused by the downing of a Russian A-50 long range radar detection aircraft. They are now trying to replace the A-50, which was shot down, unplanned by the Russians. Now, the activity of enemy reconnaissance drones is extremely high in our area of responsibility, she said. In particular, Hemenyuk says that over a hundred drones of this type were spotted along the contact line and in deeper regions over the past day. They are trying to collect the information that the A-50 can no longer transmit. And that is why we see the non-specific activity of tactical aviation, which is more distant in the Black Sea, also concentrating its efforts on collecting relevant operational data, emphasises the head of the Joint Coordination Press Centre of the Southern Defence Forces of Ukraine. Recall that on February the 23rd, the Ukrainian Defence Forces reported that a Russian A-50 aircraft was shot down over the Sea of Azov. It is worth adding that this is the second A-50 to be destroyed by our soldiers since the beginning of the full-scale war. Later, the intelligence service clarified that the A-50U is a new modernised version of the aircraft and its cost is about $350 million.