Syrian missile shoots down Russian spy plane - 15 dead

[jimmyz]

Syrian missile shoots down Russian spy plane - 15 dead. was wondering how long it would take for a Russian aircraft downing to be blamed on Israel

In a harsh telephone call Tuesday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, that 15 Russian military service people had died because of Israel’s “irresponsible actions.” The Kremlin spokesman reported that the episode was under study and an appropriate Russian response would be forthcoming.

Russia’s defense ministry blamed Israeli military planes for creating a “dangerous” situation in Latakia Monday night, by exposing the missing IL-20 spy plane to friendly Syrian missile fire that was directed against an Israeli air raid nearby. The DoD in Moscow said 15 Russian military service people died because of Israel’s “irresponsible actions,” adding that “Russia reserves the right to take appropriate measures.”

After a preliminary probe into the downing of a Russian Il-20 and loss of 15 crew members Monday night, the Israeli military issued a statement on Tuesday expressing sorrow for the loss and holding the Assad regime “fully responsible,” along with Iran and Hizballah. The IDF probe found Syrian air defense fire had been random and inaccurate and established that the Israeli jets were back in Israeli air space from Latakia when the Russian plane was shot down.


Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to tone down his Defense Minister’s harsh condemnation of Israel for “provoking” the downing of the Russian IL-20 aircraft Monday night. Instead, he spoke of “a chain of tragic circumstances,” which led to the plane being shot down by Syrian missile defense while targeting Israeli jets raiding a Syrian/Iranian target in Latakia. In his remarks, the Russian president said that Israel did not shoot the plane down, but the circumstances would be probed in depth. His response would be to boost security for Russian troops stationed in Syria, promising “steps that everyone will notice.” This was taken as pointing to the swift and conspicuous deployment of more advanced air defense systems to the country.

Link - https://www.debka.com/

[Kane]