A Russian military plane crashed on Tuesday in the Russian region of Rostov, near the border with Ukraine, resulting in the death of one pilot, according to the press service of the Russian Southern Military District.
“On June 21, a Su-25 plane crashed in the Rostov region during a scheduled training flight. The pilot died,” announced the source, which was quoted by the Russian news agencies.
“According to preliminary information, a technical failure could be at the origin of the incident. A commission of the Russian Aerospace Forces is acting on the spot,” the authorities announced.
The pilot was the only person on board the aircraft, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
The Suhoi 25 (Su-25, NATO reporting name Frogfoot)) is a Soviet-made, close-air-support aircraft introduced in 1975 and produced until 2017. It is currently in service with 22 countries, about half of them former Soviet republics and the other half various mostly African states friendly to Russia.
Russian authorities do not mention any connection to the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, which borders the Russian region of Rostov. On June 17, another Su-25 plane crashed in the Russian region of Belgorod, on the border with Ukraine, during a training flight.
The Russian military then raised a possible technical issue.
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine in recent months of carrying out attacks on Russian territory in border regions.
