Russia loses four aircraft shot out of the sky near Ukraine border

Russia ‘loses two warplanes and two military helicopters to friendly fire by their own air defence missiles’ on Putin’s side of the Ukraine border

• The helicopters and fighter jets were said to be flying near Bryansk, Russia
• Reports indicated a Su-34 and Su-35 jet and two Mi-8 helicopters were downed

Two Russian warplanes and two military helicopters appear to have been shot out of the sky today close to the border with Ukraine in suspected missile strikes.

Videos posted on Russian social media on Saturday appeared to show the fighter jets and helicopters being downed over the Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine.

Reports indicated a Su-34 supersonic fighter-bomber and a Su-35 single-seater fighter were downed.

Two Mi-8 helicopters were shot down, one over Klintsy, a town in Bryansk region, and the other close to Volkustichi village in Unechsky district, it was reported.

While some reports have disputed the number of planes and helicopters downed –  instead saying there were three in total – the Mash and Baza media outlets, with links to the authorities, said that the total number of downed aircraft was four. They added that all had been returning from a combat mission.

Videos posted on Russian social media on Saturday showed a helicopter flying near Klintsy in Russia’s Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine

Images posted by the Russian pro-war Telegram channel Voyenniy Osvedomitel showed wreckage in an agricultural field from an Mi-8 helicopter

War channels reported two warplanes and two helicopters, with at least four crew killed.

Russian reports say the pilot and navigator in the Su-34, which crashed in the village of Istrovka near Starodub, failed to eject and were killed.

Videos showed a missile hitting one Mi-8 helicopter which exploded, plunging to the earth in flames.

Crew on the helicopters were also killed, reports said.

In one of the pieces of footage, the helicopter appears to have been struck side-on as a gush of flames erupts through the rotorcraft leaving a trail of black smoke.

Some reports claimed the incident – which was said to have occurred around 40 miles (around 64km) from the Ukraine border – was a result of friendly fire after being struck by a Kremlin missile.

Earlier TASS cited an emergency services source saying: ‘The Su-34 crashed near the Ukrainian border. The fate of those on board is being established..’

Telegram account Rybar claimed that two Russian helicopters and one Su-34 fighter jet had crashed in Bryansk region.

Russian Su-35 fighter aircrafts are pictured. Two warplanes are reported to be downed

A Russian Air Force Su-34. War channels reported two warplanes and two helicopters, with at least four crew killed

But channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported that the second ‘crashed helicopter’ was in fact the Su-34.

One woman was injured on the ground.

It is not known what missiles were used.

But Ukraine has started deploying British-supplied Storm Shadow air to ground cruise missiles, with strikes in Russian-occupied Luhansk region on Friday, which were reported today.

The Russian media initially claimed that the downed helicopter in footage had suffered engine fire rather than being hit by a missile.

The strikes triggered fury from Russian pro-war pundits who allege Putin’s high command has failed to properly prosecute the war.

Igor ‘Strelkov Girkin – long a campaigner for all mobilisation and martial law – said sarcastically: ‘Today’s heavy losses by our aviation in the Bryansk region as a result of the actions of the enemy prompted some bloggers to a brilliant and completely unexpected idea that we must fight the enemy.

‘Well, who would have thought?’

He blames the Kremlin for not declaring a full-scale war or putting Russian on a war footing.

Videos showed a missile hitting one Mi-8 helicopter which exploded, plunging to the earth in flames (file image of an Mi-8 helicopter) 

Two Mi-8 helicopters were shot down, one over Klintsy, a town in Bryansk region (file image of Mi-8 helicopter)

Russian Telegram channel Military Informer said: ‘According to preliminary information, the helicopters lost in the sky of the Bryansk region were Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicopters with Rychag-AV active jamming stations installed on board.

‘The Rychag-AV complexes were created to interfere with the guidance of air defence systems and enemy aircraft, preventing the use of anti-aircraft and aircraft missiles at a distance of more than 100 kilometres [62 miles].

‘However, today the Mi-8MTPR-1s turned out to be too close to the border.’

The helicopters were assisting the Su-34 bomber for an operation over Chernihiv region in Ukraine, while the Su-35 fighter was providing cover.

The Russian warplanes and helicopters were shot down from Chernihiv region, reported Readovka.

Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko suggested that the four aircraft were downed by Russia’s own air defence systems in a friendly fire incident.

Russian Telegram channel VChK also cited a source saying the planes may have been downed by air defences on the border.

There was no official statement from Russia clarifying what had happened.

This comes just a day after another Russian military helicopter crashed in Moscow-annexed Crimea during a training exercise.

Russia’s defence ministry announced that the two pilots in the aircraft were killed following the incident on Friday.

The preliminary finding was it was due to mechanical failure, the statement said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference in Moscow, Russia, Friday

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Italy’s Prime Minister in Rome today

‘During a scheduled training flight in the Djankoi district in Crimea, an Mi-28 helicopter crashed,’ it said, adding that the helicopter had not been carrying ammunition and there had been no damage on the ground.

‘The two pilots are dead,’ it said.

The Mi-28 is a multi-task military helicopter capable of staging devastating attacks.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and used it as a launchpad for military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia says it has repelled several drone or missile attacks in Crimea in recent days.

In August 2022, the Djankoi military base was devastated after explosions at a munitions depot that Russia said was due to sabotage.

Ukraine said in March that an explosion there had destroyed Russian Kalibr cruise missiles, a claim denied by Moscow.

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