Two Russian jets and two military helicopters were shot down near the Ukrainian border, while a fifth aircraft crashed Saturday on the Russian side, according to Russian news reports. Su-34 fighter-bomber, Su-35 fighter and two Mi-8 helicopters were “shot down almost simultaneously” in an ambush in the Bryansk region, Reuters reported quoting Russian news outlet Kommersant.
The aircraft were reportedly a raiding party sent to carry out an attack on Ukraine when they were gunned down.
“According to preliminary data the fighters were supposed to deliver a missile and bomb attack on targets in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, and the helicopters were there to back them up – among other things to pick up the ‘Su’ crews if they were shot down.”
The Russian state news agency TASS said that a Su-34 warplane crashed and also cited an emergency service official who said an engine fire caused a helicopter to crash near Klintsy, 25 miles from the Ukrainian border.
