Military plane crashes in Southern Russia

UPDATE
The pilot of the crashed Su-25 is dead, as confirmed by head of the Yeysk district Roman Bublik.

Russian news outlets report citing local emergency services that a military plane has crashed in the city of Yeysk in the country’s south on Monday afternoon.

Videos show that the aircraft crashed into the sea not far from a local beach. Judging by the footage, the jet was flying away from the front line. Russian state media outlet RIA claims that the plane was conducting a training flight. An engine malfunction was cited as the preliminary cause of the crash.

The pilot is reported to have successfully ejected from the jet. TASS writes that he is being resuscitated.

The Telegram channel “112” claimed the plane in question was a Su-25 bomber. This information was later confirmed by the authorities of the Krasnodar region, who stated that “a Su-25 plane crashed not far from the shoreline. The incident has not led to casualties or damage”.

The town of Yeysk is located on the shores of the Yeya Firth — a bay in the north-eastern part of the Azov Sea, which separates Russia from occupied Ukrainian land.

This is not the first time a military plane has crashed in Yeysk since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On 17 October 2022, a Su-34 aircraft fell onto a residential building in the city, killing at least two people.