The commander of the Turkish Air Force (Air Force), Abidin Yunal, is allegedly responsible for the incident with the Russian Su-24 aircraft, which was shot down in 2015 in the sky near the border of Syria and Turkey.
This is based on the data of the judicial interrogation of Staff Colonel Ali Durmush, the portal Nordic Monitor reports, Regnum reports.
According to Durmush, the order to attack Russian warplanes without warning was given by Unal, who received a request from the command of the Turkish Air Force combat units after the appearance of Russian aircraft near the country's border.
"He ordered them to shoot down the planes," Durmush said, adding that it was about planes that would cross Turkish airspace.
On November 24, 2015, the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber involved in an anti-terrorist operation in Syria. Both pilots ejected, the navigator managed to escape, the pilot was shot from the ground by the militants. The Russian Defense Ministry immediately said that the plane did not violate the borders of Turkey.
