DUBAI: The Russian news outlet Kommersant reported that two Russian fighter jets and two military helicopters had been shot down on Saturday close to the Ukrainian border, in what would be a spectacular coup for Kyiv if confirmed.
Kommersant, a respected, independent business-focused daily, said on its website that the Su-34 fighter-bomber, Su-35 fighter and two Mi-8 helicopters had made up a raiding party, and had been “shot down almost simultaneously” in an ambush in the Bryansk region, adjoining northeast Ukraine.
“According to preliminary data ... the fighters were supposed to deliver a missile and bomb attack on targets in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, and the helicopters were there to back them up — among other things to pick up the ‘Su’ crews if they were shot down.”
The Russian state news agency TASS said a Russian Su-34 warplane had crashed in that region but did not specify a cause.
TASS also cited an emergency services official as saying an engine fire in a helicopter had caused it to crash near Klintsy, which is about 40 km (25 miles) from the border.
It made no mention of the Su-35, or of a second helicopter.
However, a video posted on the Russian pro-war Telegram channel Voyenniy Osvedomitel, which has about half a million followers, showed a helicopter high in the sky suffering an explosion, being thrown off course and then plunging toward the ground in flames.
Comments accompanying the video, which Reuters could not immediately verify, said it showed a Mi-8 being shot down by a missile. Other images posted by the channel showed wreckage in an agricultural field.
Kommersant provided no evidence for its report that four aircraft had been downed, but the same assertion was also made by several heavily followed pro-war military bloggers.
The Moscow Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Voyenniy Osvedomitel said it appeared that “most likely, the enemy staged an ambush with air defenses previously transferred to a border zone close enough to hit our group.”
It said the downed helicopters appeared to be Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare craft able to jam enemy radio and targeting signals.
Kommersant said all four crews had been killed.
There was no official response from Ukraine, which usually declines to comment on reports of attacks inside Russia.
However, in a tweet, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, called the incident “Justice ... and instant karma.”
Four Russian military aircraft shot down near Ukraine, Russian daily reports
https://arab.news/ccmvv
Four Russian military aircraft shot down near Ukraine, Russian daily reports
- Kommersant, a respected, independent business-focused daily, said on its website that the Su-34 fighter-bomber, Su-35 fighter and two Mi-8 helicopters had made up a raiding party
- The Russian state news agency TASS said a Russian Su-34 warplane had crashed in that region but did not specify a cause
Palestine Action hunger strikers launch legal action against UK govt
- They accuse authorities of abandoning prison safety policies
- Several of the imprisoned activists have been hospitalized
LONDON: Hunger strikers from Palestine Action in the UK have launched legal action against the government, accusing it of abandoning the policy framework for prison safety, The Independent reported.
A pre-action letter was sent to Justice Secretary David Lammy by a legal firm representing the activists.
It came as several imprisoned members of the banned organization — including one who has refused food for 51 days — were hospitalized due to their deteriorating health while on hunger strike.
They say they have sent several letters to Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, but have received no response.
He was urged in the latest letter to respond within 24 hours as the issue is a “matter of urgency.”
The letter added: “Our clients’ health continues to deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.”
An “urgent meeting” is needed “with the proposed defendant to discuss the deterioration of our clients’ health and to discuss attempts to resolve the situation,” it said.
Seven of the Palestine Action prisoners have been admitted to hospital since the hunger strike was launched on Nov. 2, including 30-year-old Amu Gib and Kamran Ahmed, 28.
They are being held in prisons across the country. Two members of the group have been forced to end their hunger strike due to health conditions: Jon Cink, 25, ended on day 41, while 22-year-old Umer Khalid finished on day 13.
Gib, now on day 51, was hospitalized last week and reportedly needs a wheelchair due to health concerns.
Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician, warned journalists last Thursday that some of the imprisoned activists “are dying” and need specialized medical care.
In a letter signed by more than 800 doctors, Smith said the hunger strikers were at “very high risk of serious complications, including organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and death.”
The strikers are demanding that Palestine Action, which is classified as a terrorist organization, be de-proscribed.
They are also urging the government to shut down defense companies with ties to Israel, among other demands.
In response to the latest letter, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We strongly refute these claims. We want these prisoners to accept support and get better, and we will not create perverse incentives that would encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.”
