Why the Destruction of a Russian AWACS in Minsk is a Big Deal

The A-50 ‘Mainstay’ is a low-density, high-demand asset and one of Russia’s major advantages over Ukraine.

Russian Air Force Beriev A-50U (Red 41) courtesy Sergey Lutsenko, Timofey Nikishin

On Sunday, Telegram was abuzz with activity about an explosion at Machulishchy Air Base south of Minsk, in Belarus and several Russian military bloggers echoed each other about some sort of drone attack at the Minsk airbase.