An air group of two helicopters and two fighters crashed near Bryansk Two fighter jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces and two Mi-8 helicopters crashed near the Ukrainian border in the Bryansk region.
According to a number of data, the Su-34, Su-35 and helicopters were from the same air group and were supposed to raid the territory of the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. All the crews were killed. A resident of Klintsov was injured on the ground as a result of one of the crashes.
Nine people were killed as a result of four crashes of military aircraft and helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the Bryansk region. According to the Telegram channel Baza, three pilots were killed in downed Mi-8 helicopters, one of which crashed in the city of Klintsy, injuring a local resident, and the second in the Unech district.
The Kommersant newspaper, citing its own sources, reports that all planes and helicopters could have been shot down near the Ukrainian border.
"All of them were part of the same air group - the fighters had to launch a missile and bomb attack on targets on the territory of the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, and the helicopters had to insure them, including to pick up the Su crews if they were shot down by enemy fire," the material says.
The regional authorities have so far officially confirmed only the crash of one Mi-8. Videos of all four plane crashes appeared on social networks. The footage shows that a strong fire started at the helicopter crash sites, one Mi-8 fell in the private sector in Klintsy.
This helicopter was, according to one unofficial version, shot down by a surface-to-air missile, according to the Kommersant material. Bryansk police are looking for possible saboteurs, an Interception plan has been announced.
Officially, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has not yet confirmed the fact of the crash of planes and helicopters, which apparently became the largest single death of Russian pilots since March last year.
On May 12, a Mi-28 helicopter carrying out a planned training flight crashed in the Dzhankoy district of Crimea. Both pilots were killed, there was no destruction on the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry said. According to the official version, the cause of the crash was a failure of equipment.
On February 23, a Su-25 attack aircraft of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation crashed in the Belgorod region. The plane crash occurred about 30 km from the border with the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, on the outskirts of the village. The pilot ejected, but did not survive. According to the military department, the plane was returning to the airfield after completing a combat mission. The Defense Ministry also called the preliminary version of the plane crash a technical malfunction.
On October 9, a Su-24 bomber crashed in a deserted area of the Rostov region. The crew managed to survive. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the cause of the crash then also became a technical malfunction.
According to the portal Avia.pro, the last time a one-time loss of aeronautical equipment of comparable scale for the domestic Air Force occurred during the "War of Attrition" between Egypt and Israel, in which Soviet pilots also took part.
On July 30, 1971, in an air battle with the Israeli Air Force, Soviet aviation lost four MiG-21 fighters from the 135th Fighter Aviation Regiment, landing in an airstrike. The code name of this battle is Operation Rimon 20. Soviet pilots were shot down by Israeli F-4 Phantom and Mirage III fighters.
Peter Nikolaev
