Russia Shoots Down Its Own Su-27 Fighter Jet Over Black Sea: Kyiv

Russian forces accidentally shot down one of their own Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets over Crimea, according to kyiv.

The incident on the occupied peninsula on Thursday was due to an increased state of “combat readiness”, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told Ukrainian television.

Moscow-installed Sevastopol leader Mikhail Razvozhayev said a Russian warplane “crashed” off the coast of Crimea without naming the cause and that the pilot ejected safely and was recovered by the emergency services.

Russian Telegram channels shared purported footage of the plane burning as it fell and the pilot’s parachute being ejected.

The Crimean Wind Telegram channel claimed that the plane was accidentally shot down by Russia’s own forces after taking off from the Belbek military airfield.

But Pletenchuk told Ukrainian television on Friday: “We confirm that this plane belonged to the Russian Federation and was destroyed by its own forces.

“They were on alert, ready for combat. The human factor was at work: one of the operators was eager to get a medal and didn’t care who it was,” he said. he added, according to a report from his service. comments from Ukrainian media Pravda.

News week contacted the Russian Defense Ministry about kyiv’s claims.

Over the past two months, the Russian Air Force has suffered particularly heavy aircraft losses, including more than a dozen combat aircraft such as Su-34 fighter-bombers, fighter jets Su-35 and a rare A-50 military spy plane.

Meanwhile, Ukraine expects a boost to its own air capabilities, announcing that the first F-16 fighter jets supplied by its allies would be operational within months.

Following the United States’ approval of the use of American-made aircraft, a coalition of countries has committed to providing fourth-generation jets whose technology is a step up from the MiG and Sukhoi aircraft of the Soviet era on which Kiev now relies.

Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder announced on Friday a military assistance program including $107 million to maintain and support the planes.

Denmark said Ukraine could receive its F-16 fighter jets “this summer” and The telegraph It is estimated that kyiv could receive up to 60 aircraft.

Asked whether Ukraine would get the planes from its allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that they would be a “legitimate target” for Russian pilots, even at “third country airfields.”

“We will destroy their planes the same way we destroy their tanks” and other equipment, he said at the Army’s 344th Aviation Center in Torzhok, 260 miles northwest of Moscow, while dismissing speculation that Russia would attack NATO members as “nonsense.”