Terrible moment: Russian warplane crashes near NATO border and explodes after spinning out of control while skimming over a crowd in the Kaliningrad enclave
- Both crew members were reportedly killed when the jet crashed
This is the horrifying moment a Russian Su-30 fighter jet crashed near a NATO border and exploded after spinning out of control while flying over a crowd.
Both crew members were reportedly killed when the fighter crashed to the ground at high speed at a dangerously low altitude in the Baltic region of Kaliningrad.
The wrecked Russian fighter jet was the eighth military aircraft lost by Vladimir Putin’s army this year.
The crash happened towards Russia’s border with Lithuania, near the so-called Suwalki Corridor, a 60-mile stretch between Kaliningrad and Russian ally Belarus that has been described as NATO’s “weakest link”.
There is concern that the Wagner mercenary army could be used as a provocation in the strip that is the only land connection between NATO members Poland and Lithuania.
This is the horrific moment a Russian Su-30 fighter jet crashed and exploded near a NATO border
Both crew members were reportedly killed when the fighter plane crashed in the Kaliningrad region of the Baltic Sea
The Russian warplane is the eighth military plane lost by Vladimir Putin this year
The official statement said the plane was on a training flight and had no ammunition on board. A “technical error” was named as the cause of the crash
The official statement said the plane was on a training flight and had no ammunition on board. A “technical error” was named as the cause of the crash.
However, the Russian Defense Ministry said the Su-30 crashed in a deserted area, while videos showed crowds at an outdoor event watching the crash.
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky after the plane hit the ground and exploded.
On video, observers were heard saying, “What a nightmare.”
“A plane crashed.
‘It exploded.
“The pilots didn’t even get out… what a horror.”
Last month, a Russian Su-25 fighter jet crashed into the sea just before the new pilot jumped from the doomed plane in front of amazed tourists near the Ukrainian front.
Video appeared to show the wrecked fighter plane flying at high speed at a dangerously low altitude before crashing into the Sea of Azov near the Russian city of Yeisk.
At the moment of impact, a huge cloud of water could be seen rising into the sky while tourists on a nearby beach watched in stunned silence.
Seconds before the fighter jet crashed into the sea, video appeared to show the young pilot exiting the fighter jet while his parachute landed over the water.
According to pro-war reports, the Russian pilot was on his first combat mission when he fell into the sea.
In October last year, a Su-34 crashed next to an apartment block and set it on fire, killing 15 and injuring dozens.
Earlier smoke had billowed over Russia’s Kerch Bridge to Crimea – as the Kremlin claimed to have launched two Ukrainian missiles aimed at the crucial link to the annexed peninsula
The Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea and Russia, is of great importance for Moscow
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of attacking the Crimean Bridge and a number of other unspecified targets in the Crimean Peninsula with a spate of missile and drone strikes on Saturday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced retaliation for a so-called “terrorist attack” on the bridge in Crimea, which Moscow forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine had unsuccessfully attempted to attack the Kerch Strait bridge with S-200 missiles, forcing the bridge to be temporarily closed to traffic. A new attack on Saturday afternoon paralyzed the bridge again.
The 19km bridge connecting Russia-annexed Crimea to Russia has come under repeated attacks by Ukrainian forces since Moscow on February 24, 2022.
“The Ukrainian missile was spotted in time and intercepted in the air by Russian air defense systems.” “No damage or casualties were reported,” the Defense Ministry said.
In a statement previously published on news app Telegram, Crimea’s Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov said two missiles had been shot down by anti-aircraft installations near the bridge. He also said the bridge was undamaged.
Aksyonov later reported a third unsuccessful missile attack on the bridge.
“Thank you to our Air Defense Forces for a high level of professionalism and vigilance,” he wrote on Telegram.