Overview
- The Su-24 crashed while on a combat mission in Khmelnytskyi Oblast on Tuesday and the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed both crew members were killed.
- The dead were identified as Major Bohdan Hryhorovych Zaharulko and Senior Lieutenant Bohdan Oleksandrovych Babenko who served with the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade based at Starokostiantyniv Air Base.
- Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation opened a pre-trial probe and recovered the aircraft’s flight data recorder as part of efforts to examine the jet’s technical condition and flight paperwork.
- Rescue teams and law enforcement worked at the Shepetivka district crash site, officials reported no civilian casualties, and social-media footage from residents initially misidentified the aircraft type.
- The Su-24 is a Soviet-era tactical bomber still flown by Ukraine and Russia, and this loss could prompt closer checks of maintenance, flight rules and operational procedures for older airframes.