Russian $50M Combat Jet Shot Down Over Black Sea: Ukraine Video

One of Russia's most advanced aircraft was shot down over the Black Sea, Ukraine's defense intelligence has said, as it released a video that purports to show the destruction of the fighter jet worth tens of millions of dollars.

The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) said one of its units used a man-portable air defense system (MANPAD) to target the Sukhoi Su-30SM warplane which has a price tag of around $50 million.

The DIU said that the jet had belonged to the 43rd Separate Naval Aviation Regiment of the Russian Air Force, based at Saky airfield in occupied Crimea. It had gone missing from radar around 5 a.m. Tuesday, sparking a search-and-rescue operation involving An-26 aircraft and Mi-8 and Ka-27 helicopters, it said.

"The invaders reported to the command about a characteristic slick of aviation fuel found in the sea, 70 kilometers northwest of Cape Tarkhankut, and soon saw the wreckage of the destroyed Su-30SM," the DIU statement said, according to a translation.

Aerial footage shows the aircraft flying across the sky and the clip then cuts to an explosion in the sky, prompting a strong reaction from social media users.

"Destruction of Su-30SM jet by a MANPADS missile from GUR boat in the Black Sea near Crimea-2 drilling rig," posted X user C4H10FO2P next to the 53-second video.

X user OSINTtechnical wrote on X: "Ukrainian special forces successfully shot down a Russian Naval Aviation Su-30SM multirole fighter while raiding a Black Sea oil platform Tuesday. It appears one Ukrainian MANPADS team scored a hit on the Russian fighter (with a spot from a circling Ukrainian drone)."

"Another huge loss for the Russian Air Force as an Su-30SM fighter jet went down near Crimea," posted X user Rod Francis. "It's one of Russia's best aircraft and is a modernized multi-role jet. It's a financial hit of $50M for Putin. Too bad, so sad."

Russian-language social media channels had earlier reported the disappearance and search for the multi-role fighter aircraft whose NATO reporting name is Flanker-C/G/H). It had fired four Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles toward mainland Ukraine during its mission, according to the Telegram channel Crimean Wind.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its forces had thwarted Ukraine's attempt to regain control of the Krym-2 drilling rig in the Black Sea but there is no evidence that the events are connected.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

It is the latest aviation mishap involving a Russian military aircraft. Last month, an Mi-8 helicopter carrying approximately 20 people went missing.

In June, the crew of a Russian Su-34 warplane was killed in a crash east of the Black Sea, during a training flight in Russia's North Ossetia-Alania, a small Russian republic on the border with Georgia.

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