A Lancet loitering munition caught the jet in the open at an airfield, according to the Russian Defense Ministry
Source: The Russian Defense Ministry
A Russian drone has destroyed a Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-25 jet during an attack on an airbase, according to a video released by the Defense Ministry in Moscow on Tuesday.
The footage was apparently filmed from a high-flying reconnaissance drone before, during, and after the strike on the close air support jet.
The statement from the ministry did not specify when the incident happened. Earlier on Tuesday, the ministry mentioned that the Russian military had destroyed a Su-27 and a Su-25 at their Ukrainian bases in the past 24 hours.
The strikes come as Kiev prepares for the long-expected transfer of US-designed F-16 fighter jets by a group of European NATO members. Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands are expected to donate several dozen of the aircraft from their respective fleets.
The head of Ukraine’s Air Force Command, Sergey Golubtsov, said in an interview last week that Kiev intends to station some of the fighter jets at foreign bases. Ukraine does not have enough pilots to operate them all, he claimed, so spare planes would be redeployed from NATO nations as needed.
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Russia ready to strike NATO airfields hosting Ukrainian jets – MP
Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, warned on Monday that any base from which Ukraine deploys F-16s for combat missions would be considered a legitimate military target by Moscow, regardless of which country it is in.
