A video posted on Telegram seems to display the charred remains of a Su-35 aircraft in a field.
It’s believed that Russian forces mistakenly shot down one of their top-tier fighter jets over a city they had taken in Ukraine due to a friendly-fire mishap.
Videos circulated on the Telegram app by Russian sources depict the charred debris of the Su-35 plane in an open area near Mariupol.
It’s reported that the pilot managed to eject, land unharmed, and link up with a Russian search and rescue team.
The Military Informant channel on Telegram commented, “Yet another plane lost to misdirected air defence fire. Fortunately, the pilot made it out safely this time.”
Fighter bomber, a Russian military commentator with ties to their air force, remarked, “Given the current rate of our own air defense mistakes, we’ll soon run out of planes.”
The accounts did not detail the exact weapons responsible for the purported plane downing.
The Telegraph has yet to independently confirm the reports from the Russian sources.
Should these reports be validated, it might mark only the sixth Su-35, with a price tag of over $40 million, that Russian forces have lost since their incursion into Ukraine.
After a prolonged and harsh siege in May, Moscow took control of Mariupol, which is nearly 50 miles away from the nearest frontline dividing the Ukrainian and Russian troops.
This event follows just a week after another Su-35 was lost over Tokmak, a town in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region that is under Russian control.
The UK Ministry of Defence indicated that it was “very likely” that the jet was brought down by a Russian air defense mechanism located in this critically positioned town. A video segment seemed to capture the instant when the aircraft was targeted by a Russian S-300 missile.
“While Russia has seen a loss of approximately 90 fixed-wing aircraft since the onset of the invasion, this might only be the fifth Su-35, the most advanced fighter jet Russia has in widespread use,” commented the MoD.
Su-35 planes are frequently likened to the US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets, which are slated to be gifted to Ukraine by NATO countries in the coming year.
The previous year, well-regarded pro-Russian military commentators lamented that the majority of Russian aircraft lost over Ukraine were due to friendly fire incidents.
Oryx, a platform that visually records casualties from both factions, has listed the downfall of 92 Russian aircraft and 106 helicopters since the command for the invasion was given by Vladimir Putin in February of the prior year.
