Russian warplane crashes in occupied Donetsk region

A Russian warplane had crashed in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region.

According to the “Novyny Donbasu” publication, this happened on Friday afternoon near the city of Yenakiieve, controlled by the Russian invaders.

It was a Su-34 fighter-bomber of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Prior to the crash, according to eyewitnesses, both pilots ejected.

At first, the cause of the warplane crash was unknown. Russian propaganda media assumed that the warplane had been shot down with a “friendly” anti-aircraft fire of the invasion forces.

Later, the press service of the Air Force of Ukraine reported that it was Ukrainian soldiers who had shot down an enemy Su-34.

“It’s been a long time since the Air Force’s anti-aircraft gunners downed such a target!
Around 13:30 on March 3, 2023, soldiers of the Nikopol anti-aircraft missile regiment destroyed a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber near Yenakiieve,” the Armed Forces of the Ukraine stressed.

The Ukrainian military also specified in the statement that one of the Russian pilots had been killed.

The temporarily occupied Yenakiieve is located approximately 25 km from the front line, where fierce battles with the Russian invaders are ongoing.

Russian combat aircraft are trying to support the offensive actions of the invaders with their strikes and therefore must fly in the close proximity to the front line.

The Su-34 is a Soviet/Russian all-weather twin-seat fighter-bomber. The aircraft is designed to carry out precise missile and bomb strikes on enemy ground targets in operational and tactical depth, as well as for fighting air targets. It was created as a replacement for the Su-24 fighter jet.

Recently, the Russian military has received a new batch of Su-34 front-line bombers.