A house caught fire in the Russian city of Yeisk on Monday. A Russian Sukhoi-34 fighter jet crashed into the courtyard of the high-rise building, causing a major fire. That writes the Russian news agency Tass.
According to the Russian ministry, it was a flight exercise. The fighter jet took off from an airfield in the Southern Military District, after which one of its engines caught fire. The two pilots were able to save themselves with parachutes. The now unmanned aircraft crashed into the courtyard of a residential building and a fire broke out. Footage shows a huge fireball after the jet crashed into the yard. Nine floors were on fire.
According to Tass, 13 people died in the fire, including three children. At least 19 injured were taken to hospital. According to the ministry, the fire was caused by the leaked fuel. According to a Kremlin statement quoted by TASS, Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) has ordered all necessary support to be provided to the victims of the crash.
Was the fighter jet headed for Ukraine?
The former State Secretary of the Interior of Ukraine, Anton Heraschenko (43), does not want to believe that there is a technical defect. He has a different theory for the crash. Yeysk is located in the north of the Russian Krasnodar region on the Azov Sea. Across the bay is the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was destroyed by bombing raids and a long siege in the early months of the Russian offensive.
Herashenko is convinced that the Sukhoi SU-34 was equipped with ammunition and would fly to Ukraine to attack the civilian population. Because: Putin’s troops have been attacking cities and infrastructure in Ukraine for a week.
In addition, eyewitnesses report that there have been explosions. In videos circulating on social media, you can hear it popping in the background. “There were no explosions,” said Alexander Kurenkov (50), Minister of Civil Defense. “Had the plane been armed with ammunition, only half the buildings would be here today.”
Other Twitter users are convinced that the Russians may have accidentally shot down their own plane, assuming the plane came from an enemy direction. However, there is no evidence for this. (jwg)