A pair of MiG-29s was shot down in the southern part of the country, the Defense Ministry says 
Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter planes during an exercise near Kiev, 2016. © Sergei Supinsky / AFP
Russian fighter jets have shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 warplanes modified to fire US-made anti-radar weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
According to the ministry, the planes that were intercepted in Ukraine’s southern Nikolaev Region were capable of carrying AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM) that are used to destroy radar stations on the ground.
The ministry reported that 12 Ukrainian drones were shot down, and 21 missiles, mostly from US-supplied HIMARS launchers, were intercepted mid-air.
The news comes as Ukraine’s Kherson Region and large parts of neighboring Zaporozhye Region, both controlled by Russian troops, are holding five-day referendums on joining Russia. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), which broke away from Ukraine in the wake of the 2014 coup in Kiev, are also voting on becoming parts of Russia.
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