Own goal

 

This must be embarrassing for the Russian armed forces . . . if not career-ending for some of them.

Russia took delivery on a handful of advanced Su-34M fighter bombers late last month, and one has already been shot down over Ukraine. It wasn’t Ukrainian forces who managed to down the twin-seat jet, however… It was Russia’s own air defenses.

Over the weekend, video emerged of Russian forces downing a jet operating over Eastern Ukraine, though at the time, it was unclear exactly what type of aircraft they had intercepted ... “Last night, the air-defense crew of the allied forces destroyed a target in the sky over Alchevsk,” Yevgeny Poddubny, a Russian war correspondent and known propagandist, wrote with the video he uploaded.

“The nature of the target is not clear. The burning ball fell to the ground for more than a minute.”

The one-minute video shared on July 17 shows a bright light emanating from above the clouds, accompanied by a thundering crash. Shortly thereafter, a fireball can be seen falling from the sky.

It wasn’t long before the wreckage of the aircraft was located, and upon inspection, it soon became apparent that it was actually one of just ten or fewer Su-34Ms in existence, with a registration number of RF-95890.

These jets, which Russian media refers to as 4++ generation fighters-bombers, were just delivered to the Russian air force late last month, fulfilling the beginning of an order placed in May of 2020.

The only nation that operates these fighter-bombers, of course, is Russia themselves.

There's more at the link.  You can see the video (and subsequent footage of the wreckage) at the link provided in the excerpt above.

Er . . . oops?

Peter