DOWN IN FLAMES
Russian jet and helicopter crash in same town hours apart as ‘two more aircraft are downed’
A RUSSIAN fighter jet and a helicopter have been seen crashing amid reports a further two warplanes have also been downed.
Footage shows Su-34 jet and a Mi-8 chopper were seen coming down near a Russian town within two hours of each other and it's claimed all four aircraft were brought down by friendly fire.
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The town where the first two planes crashed lies in the south-eastern region of Bryansk, about 25 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Another Mi-8 helicopter along with a Su-35 single seater fighter also came down, elsewhere in the Bryansk region.
Horror footage showed one of the the Mi-8 aircraft plummeting from the skies engulfed in flames as it slammed into the ground.
Then just two hours later, footage showed the Su-34 falling from the skies and its burnt wreckage on the ground.
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The pilot and navigator in the plane failed to eject and were killed.
But Mash and Baza media outlets , which have with links to the authorities, said that the total number of downed aircraft was four - all returning from a combat mission.
There have been unconfirmed reports that the helicopter may have been shot down by friendly fire.
One Russian media outlet reported that all four aircraft were killed by friendly fire when target recognition systems malfunctioned.
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At first, the state news agency TASS reported one of the Mi-8s crashed due to "the engine catching on fire" citing preliminary information.
A source told TASS: "As of now, helicopter debris has been located.
"A fire started following the crash, it was extinguished quickly. The people who were abroad are dead."
However, a video posted on the Russian pro-war Telegram channel, Voyenniy Osvedomitel, showed a helicopter high in the sky exploding, being thrown off course and then plunging earthwards in flames.
Another channel, Military Informer, said: "According to preliminary information, the helicopters lost in the sky of the Bryansk region were Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicopters with Rychag-AV active jamming stations installed on board.
"The Rychag-AV complexes were created to interfere with the guidance of air defence systems and enemy aircraft, preventing the use of anti-aircraft and aircraft missiles at a distance of more than 62 miles.
"However, the Mi-8MTPR-1s turned out to be too close to the border."
The helicopters were reportedly assisting the Su-34 bomber for an operation over Chernihiv region in Ukraine, while the Su-35 fighter provided cover.
Kyiv has not made an official statement surrounding the incident.
Conversely, Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko suggested the four aircraft were downed by Russia’s own air defence systems in a friendly fire incident.
Russian Telegram channel VChK also cited a source that claimed the planes may have been downed by air defences on the border.
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There was no official statement from Russia clarifying what had happened.
Last year, Vladimir Putin was left humiliated when his troops shot down one of their own $34million fighter jets.
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