Russians Lose Another Su-34 Fighter Bomber – Was a Ukrainian F-16 Responsible?

Sources close to the Russia’s Aerospace Forces, including Ilya Tumanov, the notorious Fighterbomber milblogger, signaled the loss of the Su-34 fighter bomber in an unidentified area of the battlefield. Messages such as “Eternal memory, brothers!” and “Let’s Live!” suggest that the aircraft’s two-man crew did not survive the incident. Several of the sites posted photos of a black painted Su-34 which they said was the actual aircraft that had gone down.

Just as after the loss of another Su-34 in similar circumstances on Oct. 12, the finger of suspicion was immediately pointed at the Ukrainian F-16. With reports suggesting that Ukraine is increasingly deploying the US designed fighters, they are rapidly becoming the bogey man of first choice for several pro-Kremlin social media sites. Many analysts, including Kyiv Post’s senior military correspondent, treated the earlier claims with some skepticism.

There has also been no official confirmation or denial from either Russian or Ukrainian sources of the cause of the aircraft loss or the involvement of the F-16 during this latest incident.

Another Russian milblogger “Two Majors,” while having previously suggested that F-16s had been operating over the Kursk region, thought it was more likely that the Su-34 had been brought down by a Ukrainian Patriot air defense missile which it alleged had been operating in the Belgorod region the previous night.

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Even the lack of official statements from either side got the analysts agitated.

Some say the lack of comment from the Russian side reflects the Kremlin’s sensitivities about admitting to the loss of yet another of its advance aircraft. The Su-34 is the main tactical aircraft that Russia uses to carry out missile and bomb attacks against Ukrainian front line positions, as well as military and civilian locations in the border areas. The fighter bombers have suffered numerous losses after being shot down by Ukrainian air defense as well as losses due to technical malfunctions and crew errors.

On the other side of the coin, they put Kyiv’s silence down to the desire to keep the enemy guessing about whether or not they are using the jewel in their military crown. The F-16 is probably the best aircraft operating over the Ukrainian battlefield but there are relatively few available to Kyiv’s air forces.