Aviation
Russia accidently shoots down its own Rs 320 Crore Sukhoi fighter jet during Ukraine raids: Report
Amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis, reports have surfaced claiming that the Ukrainian forces have shot down a Russian Su-34 Fullback strike fighter jet. Based on the Ukrainian media’s report, the plane was shot while passing over the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. Specifically, the reports said that the plane was shot down in the Alchevsk city of the aforementioned region, a front-line region of the ongoing conflict. It is to be noted that the separatist fighters getting Russian support are in control of the region.
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The videos posted online on July 17 show that visibly the air defence system was fired by either the pro-separatist or the Russian forces from the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, followed by what seemed like a fireball that hits the ground later. Videos and images uploaded by the Strategic Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Telegram messaging app appear to show the burnt wreckage of a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber.
Later, the aircraft was recognised as RF-95890 by a number of sources, including OSINT accounts and internet war trackers, as can be seen in some of the images. It is to be noted that the Su-34s are fighter jets that need a lot of fuel for their flight and hence carry lots of fuel, which could have been a catalyst in the fireball that was recorded falling out of the sky.
A rare Su-34M with some avionics, communications, and radar improvements was identified as the aircraft, according to additional information. It has been claimed that the Su-34M fighter jets were delivered to the Russian Air Force in earlier reports, which gives support to the claim. Moreover, a new order was placed in 2020 for the jets to be delivered in 2027.
