A Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber has been downed under mysterious circumstances in the early hours of 1 November, Defence Blog and Militarnyi reported, citing Russian military bloggers, marking the second such loss in recent weeks.
Russian military bloggers linked to military aviation have acknowledged the incident, with the crew reportedly not surviving the crash. The incident follows a similar loss on 12 October, when a Russian Su-34 was allegedly shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force’s F-16.
Militarnyi notes that if the Su-34 photo shared by Russian aviation-linked milblogger Ilya Tumanov is authentic, it depicts a black-painted aircraft previously based in Voronezh and Morozovsk, Rostov Oblast.
According to Militarnyi, Russian milblogger “Dva Mayora” claims that a Ukrainian Patriot air defense system allegedly engaged aerial targets over Russia’s Belgorod Oblast the previous evening. However, it remains unclear if this incident is linked to the loss of the Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber.
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