MOSCOW, May 13 (Portal) – Russia’s Kommersant news agency said two Russian warplanes and two military helicopters were shot down near the Ukrainian border on Saturday in what would be a spectacular coup for Kiev if confirmed.
Kommersant said on its website that the Su-34 fighter-bomber, Su-35 fighter plane and two Mi-8 helicopters formed an attack squad and were “shot down almost simultaneously” in an ambush in the Bryansk region bordering northeast Ukraine.
“According to preliminary data…the fighters were supposed to conduct a missile and bomb attack on targets in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, and the helicopters were there to support them – including to pick up the ‘Su’ crews, if any.” …” they were shot down.
The Russian state news agency TASS reported that a Russian Su-34 fighter jet crashed in the region, but gave no cause.
TASS also quoted an EMS official as saying an engine fire in a helicopter caused the crash near Klinty, about 40 km (25 miles) from the border.
No mention was made of the Su-35 or a second helicopter.
A video published on Russian pro-war Telegram channel Voyenniy Osvedomitel showed a helicopter exploding high in the sky, going off course and then crashing to the ground in flames.
Comments on the video, which Portal could not immediately verify, said it showed a missile shooting down a Mi-8. Other images posted by the broadcaster showed debris in an agricultural field.
Kommersant provided no evidence for its report that four planes had been shot down, but the same claim was also made by several heavily persecuted pro-war military bloggers.
Later on Saturday, Bryansk Region Governor Alexander Bogomaz said a Ukrainian drone struck a food production plant in Starodub, near the border with Ukraine, damaging the roof. Bogomaz wrote on Telegram that there were no injuries.
The incident came two days after Bogomaz reported a drone attack on an oil storage facility in the region.
Moscow’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Kommersant report.
Voyenniy Osvedomitel said it seems that “most likely the enemy staged an ambush with anti-aircraft systems previously moved to a border zone close enough to hit our group”.
The crashed helicopters were said to be Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare aircraft.
Kommersant said all four crew members were killed.
There was no official response from Ukraine, which normally refuses to comment on reports of attacks inside Russia.
However, in a Twitter post, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called the incident “justice…and instant karma.”
Earlier this month, explosions derailed freight trains for two consecutive days in the Bryansk region.
Reporting by Vladimir Soldierkin; Edited by Kevin Liffey
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