The Ukrainian Armed Forces have reported an incident where a Russian Su-30SM fighter jet was shot down by its own military. This was announced in an official statement by the General Staff, posted on Facebook.
"Through intelligence from the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we have received data about a fire in both engines and the ejection of the crew from the aircraft belonging to the Russian invaders, which was carrying out a mission in the northwestern part of temporarily occupied Crimea," the statement reads.
The General Staff hypothesizes that the enemy likely shot down its own multirole fighter while attempting to repel a drone attack using air defense systems.
Earlier, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, stated in a live broadcast on the "Apostrophe" channel that in occupied Crimea, the Russians likely shot down their own plane while defending against Ukrainian Armed Forces' attacks.