Russian ops in Ukraine to be impacted after Wagner Group reportedly shot down 'special mission' aircraft, UK says

Russian operations are likely to be "negatively affected" after the Wagner Group reportedly shot down a "special mission" aircraft during the mercenaries' mutiny, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has said.

The mutiny, which came after months of tension between the group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the Kremlin, culminated in Wagner marching on Moscow but stopping short of a possible confrontation with Russian forces. 

In an intelligence update on Twitter, the MOD said Wagner Group forces shot down both Russian helicopters and an Ilyushin II-22M airborne command post aircraft.

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"The Il-22M is part of a relatively small fleet of up to 12 aircraft, heavily utilised for both airborne command and control and radio relay tasks," the MOD said.

The MOD said the Ilyushin II-22M aircraft "have played a key role in orchestrating Russian forces in their war against Ukraine".

"As high-value assets, they have operated within the safety of Russian airspace, far beyond the range of Ukrainian air defence systems.

"The loss of this aircraft is likely to have a negative impact on Russian air and land operations."

The MOD said, in the short term, the "psychological shock of losing a large number of aircrew in this manner will almost certainly damage morale within the Russian Aerospace Force".

"In the longer term, there is a possibility that current tasking levels may have to be reduced to safely manage the remaining fleet," the MOD said.

"This will likely undermine Russia's ability to command and co-ordinate its forces, particularly during periods of high tempo operations."

Lieutenant General (Retired) Ben Hodges, a former senior US Army Commander in Europe, said Vladimir Putin may use the mutiny to cut back the operation in Ukraine.

Lt Gen Hodges also said the chaos sown by the insurrection could also affect the willingness of Russian soldiers to fight and die in Ukraine.