New York [US], October 14: The Institute for the Study of War (ISW, USA) said that ISW could not verify the claim that a Ukrainian F-16 was involved in the loss of a Russian Su-34 aircraft as reported, according to a report on the Russia-Ukraine conflict situation posted on the ISW website on October 12.
A prominent Russian military blogger confirmed that the Su-34 crew had died but insisted the loss was not related to the Ukrainian operation, and other military bloggers speculated that the Su-34 may have crashed due to a technical malfunction or human error, according to ISW.
Also according to ISW, a Telegram channel, claiming to be managed by Russian Air Force (VDV) officers and members of Russia's "Dnepr" Group of Forces, claimed that a Ukrainian F-16 probably shot down a Russian Su-34 while the Su-34 was dropping FAB glide bombs at a distance of about 50 km from the front line.
The Telegram channel later responded to claims that the Su-34 could have crashed due to technical failure or human error, noting that such hypothetical scenarios still highlight the problem of Su-34 wear and tear, unprofessionalism, and exhaustion among Russian pilots, according to ISW.
The Telegram channel also accused military bloggers of lying about the Su-34 crash and preventing Russian forces from developing plans to counter the threat from Ukrainian F-16s, according to ISW.
ISW said the institute could not independently confirm the Telegram channel's claim, but if confirmed, the incident would mark the first time Ukraine has shot down a Russian manned aircraft using Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets.
So far there is no information about the reaction of Russia or Ukraine to the information that the F-16 shot down the Su-34.
On the evening of October 13, TASS news agency quoted an announcement from the Russian Ministry of Defense stating that a Russian Su-34 used a bomb to attack a Ukrainian base in Russia's Kursk province.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper