This handout picture shows what is said the wreckage of a Russian Sukhoi Su-25 assault aircraft. Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operations/AFP
MOSCOW — A Russian military pilot died when his fighter plane crashed near the border with Ukraine on Tuesday, according to the press service of the southern military district.
“On June 21, an Su-25 aircraft crashed in the Rostov region during a planned training flight. The pilot died,” Russian news agencies quoted the source as saying.
According to preliminary information, a technical malfunction could have caused the crash and a team from the Russian Aerospace Forces was rushed to the scene to investigate.
The pilot was the only person on board the crashed fighter jet, according to the Interfax agency.
The Sukhoi Su-25 is a Soviet-designed armoured attack aircraft. The Russian authorities did not mention any link with the ongoing military offensive in Ukraine, bordering the Rostov region.
On June 17, another Su-25 crashed in the Belgorod region, also bordering Ukraine, during a training flight. On that occasion too the military suggested a technical problem could have caused the crash.
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine in recent months of carrying out strikes on Russian soil in border regions.
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