The head of Wagner, Prigozhin, showed the wreckage of the Su-24M that rammed a column of Ukrainian equipmentLUGANSK, February 15 — RIA Novosti.
The wreckage of the Su-24M from the air wing of the Wagner group was found and taken from the battlefield near Kleshcheyevka, said the founder of the group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
"The remains of our plane, pilots Antonov and Nikishin, were taken out at Kleshcheyevka… The guys heroically fulfilled their task – they worked out, fell on enemy territory, ramming a column of enemy equipment ... The guys, despite the difficult situation, managed to bring this board to the battles," Prigozhin told reporters against the background of the evacuated wreckage of the Su-24M.
On the night of December 2, 2022, the crew of the front-line bomber Su-24M of the Wagner group, consisting of commander Alexander Antonov and navigator Vladimir Nikishin, carried out a combat mission near the village of Kleshcheyevka in the Artemovsky (Bakhmutsky) district of the DPR. At this time, the armed formations of Ukraine attempted to dislodge the Wagner assault vehicles from their recently occupied positions in the Kleshcheyevka area and sent a large armored column to counterattack. The commander of one of the assault detachments requested air support, and the crew of the Su-24M was redirected to the enemy column.
To strike, the pilots needed to fly several kilometers beyond the line of contact. At the moment of turning on a combat course, the aircraft was hit by MANPADS. The pilots realized that they could no longer carry the bombs to the target, and after five to seven seconds, the Su-24M crashed into a cluster of armored vehicles. A short time later, the commander of the Wagner, requesting air support, reported that the target was hit, and the enemy's onslaught was stopped.
The remains of the heroically killed pilots were transferred by the Ukrainian side through the contact line on December 15. According to Prigozhin, their bodies were returned by the enemy in coffins covered with flags of Russia and the Wagner group.
