“Russian Fighter Jets and Helicopters Shot Down near Ukrainian Border: Report”

The Russian newspaper “Kommersant” reported that two Russian fighter jets and two military helicopters were shot down near the Ukrainian border today, which would be a major blow to Kiev if confirmed, Reuters reported.

Kommersant, a respected independent business-oriented daily newspaper, reported on its website that the Su-34 fighter-bomber, the Su-35 fighter

and two Mi-8 helicopters formed a strike group and were “downed almost simultaneously” in an ambush in the Bryansk region, bordering northeastern Ukraine.

“According to preliminary reports … the fighter jets were to carry out a missile and bomb attack on targets in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, and the helicopters were there to support them – among other things, to pick up the aircrews if they were shot down. “

TASS reported that a Russian Su-34 had crashed in that region, but did not specify the cause. The Russian news agency also quoted an emergency services official as saying a fire in the helicopter’s engine caused it to crash near Klintsi, an area about 40km from the border.

The TASS information does not mention either the Su-35 or the second helicopter.

However, a video posted on the pro-war Military Whistleblower Telegram channel, which has around half a million followers, shows a helicopter high in the sky exploding and then plummeting to the ground in flames.

Comments accompanying the video, which Reuters could not independently verify, said the video showed the Mi-8 being shot down by a missile. Other images posted by the channel show debris in fields.

Kommersant did not provide evidence for its report that two warplanes and two helicopters had been shot down, but the same claim was made by several strongly pro-war bloggers, according to Reuters.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow did not respond to the agency’s request for comment.

According to Kommersant, all four crew members died.

There has been no official response from Ukraine, which usually refuses to comment on reports of attacks on Russian territory.

However, on Twitter Mykhailo Podoliak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called the incident “Justice… and instant karma.”

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