Fighter jet crash near Crimea: Ukraine smells friendly fire – “Soldier really wanted a medal”. Russia is now said to have shot down its own aircraft of the type.
Russia's losses in the Ukraine war remain high: own shoot-downs are not uncommon. The fact that one of Putin's own planes was apparently shot down will most likely have consequences for those responsible in Putin's army. Western observers recently suspected that the high loss of material was a Russian strategy aimed at achieving strategic advantages on the battlefield at all costs.