A Russian Ministry of Defence plane has crashed in the Valuysky district of the Belgorod region, it has been announced.
Reports initially said the pilot had successfully ejected from the stricken aircraft but later said he had died from “multiple injuries” after being rushed to hospital.
The attack aircraft fell on a barn with hay on the outskirts of Orekhovo village, according to Baza media outlet, while other reports said it had been a Su-24 bomber.
Governor of the region Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel today: “A plane of the Ministry of Defense crashed in the Valuysky urban district. Now an investigation team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working on the spot."
It was not immediately clear if it had been hit by a strike from Ukraine, but Russia quickly said the crash was due to a “technical malfunction”, a routine explanation when its warplanes crash.
News outlet 112 reported: “The pilot of the downed Su-25 died due to injuries during the ejection. The aircraft was heading to the base airfield in the Belgorod region, but lost control due to a technical malfunction.”
Pictures from the site of the crash show thick black plumes of smoke billowing in the air but details of the crash are still unknown.
The type of plane in question is the type which has been used by the Russians in the war in Ukraine and which Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he is ready to launch the production of.
“I should tell you that the Belarusians are already producing up to a thousand component parts for the MC-21 [Russia's medium-range narrow-body passenger aircraft] and Sukhoi Superjet 100 (Russia's short-range narrow-body passenger aircraft]," he said.
"We have three factories: two military and one civilian. They used to be repair shops. Today they produce component parts.
“As I was informed by the government, they are ready for the production of the Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft that have proved to be efficient in Ukraine. We are even ready to produce them in Belarus if the Russian Federation provides a little bit of technological support,” Alexander Lukashenko said.
Three days ago Ukraine’s Defense Forces shot down a Russian Su-25 aircraft, two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and one Lancet-3 loitering munition.
Meanwhile, the United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “an affront to our collective conscience” at a two-day meeting of the General Assembly.
Friday’s anniversary is “a grim milestone for the people of Ukraine and for the international community”, he said in New York.
