Overview
- The Russian Defense Ministry said a Su-30 crashed in Crimea during a scheduled training flight Friday, and both airmen ejected and were recovered.
- The ministry said the fighter was unarmed during the sortie and was flying without ammunition.
- Officials released no cause for the crash and gave no details on any investigation or where the wreckage fell.
- The incident followed Tuesday’s An-26 transport crash in Crimea that killed passengers and crew, with local reports naming Northern Fleet air corps chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Otroshchenko among the dead.
- Open-source analysts at Oryx count at least 18 Su-30SM losses since the full-scale invasion, a visually confirmed tally that suggests ongoing strain on Russia’s fighter fleet.