COVID-19 Latest
World|politics|November 25, 2015 / 04:56 PM
Russia deploying advanced anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria as Turkey downs Russian jet, killing 1 pilot, 2nd rescued

AKIPRESS.COM - CUkIUN1WwAAsLMq.png:large Russia’s military has recovered the second pilot from its bomber shot down by Turkey on Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry has announced.

Moscow’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, briefed president Vladimir Putin on the rescue on television, informing him that the pilot had been found after a twelve-hour search and that he was now back in a Russian airbase in Syria, reports ABC News.

The plane’s other pilot was killed by rebels after he ejected, according to Russian defense officials. Putin said the deceased pilot will be awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of Russia medal, one of Russia’s highest military honors.

Simultaneously, Russia’s defense ministry announced it would be deploying advanced anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria, close to where the incident happened to prevent further attacks of its planes conducting strikes there.

The Su-24 jet was brought down by Turkish fighters in the northern mountains of Syria’s Latakia province, close to the border with Turkey, where it had been bombing Syrian rebel militants. Turkey has insisted the plane was destroyed because it violated Turkish airspace, a claim Russia has disputed.

The shooting down-- the first of a Russian plane by a NATO aircraft since the 1950s-- has prompted a diplomatic crisis between Russia and Turkey and added yet another tangle to the intractable Syrian conflict.

All rights reserved

© AKIpress News Agency - 2001-2024.

Republication of any material is prohibited without a written agreement with AKIpress News Agency.

Any citation must be accompanied by a hyperlink to akipress.com.

Our address:

299/5 Chingiz Aitmatov Prosp., Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic

e-mail: english@akipress.org, akipressenglish@gmail.com;

Follow us:

Log in


Forgot your password? - recover

Not registered yet? - sign-up

Sign-up

I have an account - log in

Password recovery

I have an account - log in