Witnesses captured the moment a Russian MiG-31 fighter plane crashed in the Primorsk region of Russia’s far east. Russia’s Eastern Military District confirmed the disaster, adding that the pilots on board managed to eject before the crash. Eyewitnesses to the crash reported seeing the plane catch fire before the crash.
Emergency footage shows thick black smoke billowing into the sky in a remote area of Russia.
Military officials attributed the crash, which occurred during a training flight, to a “technical malfunction”.
It marks the latest “non-combat loss” of Russian military aircraft during the war with Ukraine, amid growing signs of fatigue for Vladimir Putin’s forces.
The $60 million supersonic fighter jet is one of the aircraft regularly used in the war with Ukraine.
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In early November, a Russian Mi-2 helicopter with five people on board crashed in the Kostroma region of Russia.
In late October, a Russian warplane crashed into an apartment building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing both crew members.
Meanwhile, the latest intelligence briefing from the British MoD says Russia’s dramatic withdrawal from Kherson and the west bank of the Dnieper River last month has allowed Ukraine to attack further Russian logistics points and lines of communication.
Russia continues to evacuate areas from the Kherson region as Russian authorities confirmed today that they will begin evacuating people with reduced mobility from the city of Kahovka.
Russia illegally annexed four Ukrainian regions in late September, without taking full control of any of them.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden said he wanted to meet with Vladimir Putin.
Speaking alongside French leader Emmanuel Macron, President Biden said: “There is only one way to end this war – the rational way. Putin withdraws from Ukraine.
“He’s sick of what he’s doing. I am ready to talk to Mr. Putin if there is indeed an interest in him deciding that he is looking for a way to end the war.”
