I love this part,
"The human factor was at work—one of the operators was eager
to get a medal and didn't bother to find out whose plane it
was," he added,----"
Won't my Mommy be so proud of me!!

from
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-russia-sukhoi-crash-su-27-1885226?utm_source=spotim&utm_medium=spotim_recirculation&spot_im_redirect_source=pitc&spot_im_comment_id=sp_vNTS7w0J_article-1885226_c_2ePDU9Lj0K2NBs1ZdIRV2IDu67j&spot_im_highlight_immediate=true

Russia Shoots Down Its Own Su-27 Fighter Jet Over Black Sea: Kyiv
Published Mar 30, 2024 at 5:36 AM EDT
Updated Mar 30, 2024 at 11:22 AM EDT

00:59
Russia's Celebration Over Hitting Ukraine's 'Su-25 Jet' Proves Short Lived
By Brendan Cole
Senior News Reporter

Russian forces downed one of their own Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets over
Crimea by accident, according to Kyiv.

A state of heightened "combat readiness" was to blame for the incident
over the occupied peninsula on Thursday, Ukraine's Navy spokesman Dmytro
Pletenchuk said on Ukrainian television.

The Moscow-installed leader in Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, had said
that a Russian warplane had "crashed" off the Crimean coast without
naming the cause and that the pilot ejected safely and was picked up by
rescue services.

Russian Telegram channels shared purported footage of the plane which
was burning as it fell and a parachute of the ejected pilot.

The Crimean Wind Telegram channel claimed the plane was accidentally
shot down by Russia's own forces after taking off from the Belbek
military airfield.

Sukhoi Su-27 Airplane
This undated illustrative image shows a Sukhoi Su-27 Airplane. One of
the planes belonging to Russia's forces was shot down in friendly fire
on March 28, 2024, according to Ukraine's military.
ALAIN NOGUES/GETTY IMAGES

But Pletenchuk told Ukrainian television on Friday: "We confirm that
this aircraft belonged to the Russian Federation and that it was
destroyed by their own forces.

"They were on alert, on combat readiness. The human factor was at
work—one of the operators was eager to get a medal and didn't bother to
find out whose plane it was," he added, according to a report of his
comments by Ukrainian outlet Pravda.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry about Kyiv's claims.

Over the last two months, Russia's Air Force has suffered particularly
heavy aircraft losses including more than a dozen warplanes such as
Su-34 fighter bombers, Su-35 fighter jets, and a rare A-50 military spy
plane.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is anticipating a boost in its own aviation
capabilities, announcing that the first F-16 fighter jets supplied by
its allies would be in operation within a few months.

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Following the U.S. approval for the American-made planes to be used, a
coalition of countries has pledged to provide the fourth-generation jets
whose technology is a step up from the Soviet-era MiG and Sukhoi jets
Kyiv now relies on.

Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder announced on Friday a
military assistance package which contains $107 million to maintain and
support the jets.

Denmark said Ukraine could receive its F-16 fighter jets "this summer"
and The Telegraph estimated that Kyiv may receive as many as 60 of the
aircraft.

When asked about Ukraine getting the aircraft from allies, Russian
President Vladimir Putin said this week that they would be a "legitimate
target" for Russian pilots even on "airfields of third countries."

"We will destroy their planes in the same way that we destroy their
tanks," and other equipment, he said at the 344th Army Aviation Centre
in Torzhok, 160 miles northwest of Moscow, although he dismissed
speculation that Russia would attack NATO members as "nonsense."

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About the writer
Brendan Cole
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Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His
focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... read more