Shoigu: Su-24 navigator saved

The navigator of the confused Su-24 aircraft Konstantin Murakhin, saved by special forces of Russia and the Syrian army, will be awarded the Order of Courage. The decree on the award, as Interfax reports , was signed by Vladimir Putin. The second catapulted pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov, died. The title of Hero of Russia will be assigned to him posthumously. Morpekh Alexander Pozinich, who participated in a rescue operation, is also presented to the posthumous award.

The fact that the Su-24 navigator was saved earlier by the head of the Ministry of Defense Sergey Shoigu. According to him, the operation lasted 12 hours and was completed only at 3:40 Moscow time. “I would like to thank all our guys who worked with a huge risk all night,” said Shoigu.

The fact that the Syrian military evacuated the second pilot on Wednesday morning on his Facebook page was reported by the Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen. According to the television channel, the search operation lasted about six hours. For two more hours, the Syrian military spent on leaving the Russian pilot from the rear of the militants. After that, he was delivered by a helicopter to the Russian Khmeimim air base, the report said.

Murakhin, who was in the hospital, said that his aircraft could not break the Turkish airspace. "I saw perfectly both on the map and on the ground where the border is and where we are. We are not even a threat of access to Turkey," he said. According to the navigator, the Turkish rocket hit the plane suddenly, and the crew did not have the opportunity to evade it, and there were no warnings from the Turkish side.

The day before, the Russian Ministry of Defense recognized the death of one of the Russian pilots who managed the Su-24. According to the military, the catapulted pilot died in the air "from the fire from the ground." Also, the head of the main operational department of the General Staff, the Armed Forces, Sergei Rudskoy, announced the death of the Naval Controller, who participated in the operation to save pilots. During the operation, according to Rudskiy, one of the helicopters was shot down and made a forced landing. Later, the helicopter was destroyed by mortar fire.

On Tuesday, Syrian rebels published photos, claiming that they depicted the "dead Russian pilot Major Sergei Rumyantsev." According to the project of independent civilian and journalistic investigations, BillingCat, a man in the photo is dressed in a form similar to the form of pilots of Russian VKS in Syria. According to the site, the details of equipment and stripes are said about this.

The unnamed source of the Chelyabinsk.ru website confirmed that Chelyabinets, a military personnel of the Shagol, Sergei Rumyantsev, died in Syria. “Yes, this is he, there is no more information yet, they are looking for the second,” the source said. The press service of the Central Military District refused to provide any information regarding the belonging of a shot down aircraft to the Chelyabinsk air base Shagol, explaining that informing on a military operation in Syria is the prerogative of the Ministry of Defense. At the same time, as the note says, all friends and colleagues of Sergei Rumyantsev removed their pages from social networks.

On Tuesday, the Su-24 Russian bomber was shot down by an air-to-air missile from the Turkish aircraft F-16. According to the Turkish General Staff, the plane, flying about 5 kilometers in the Turkish airspace, came out of it. The head of the main operational department of the General Staff of Russia, Lieutenant General Sergei Rudski, in turn, said that "according to the exact data of objective control" , the Russian aircraft Su-24 did not cross the border with Turkey . According to the general, the Turkish side, before bringing down the Su-24, did not try to make contact with the crew of the Russian aircraft, and the attacking fighter of the Turkish Air Force violated the airspace of Syria.