Russia blames Israel and reserves the right to retaliate. If you follow the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Il-20 was destroyed by a Syrian air defense missile that fired at Israeli aircraft. They covered themselves with the Russian side, deliberately creating a dangerous situation, the ministry claims.

Il-20 airplane. Photo: Maxim Kuzovkov/TASS

Updated at 14:42

The blame for the Russian Il-20 shot down in Syria and for the death of the crew lies entirely with the Israeli side. This was stated by the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu in a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman.

“The Russian Ministry of Defense, through various channels of interaction, has repeatedly called on the Israeli side to refrain from attacks on Syrian territory that pose a threat to the safety of Russian military personnel,” the ministry emphasized.

Earlier, Moscow admitted that the Il-20 of the Russian Aerospace Forces was accidentally shot down by Syrian air defense forces. At the same time, Moscow laid the blame for the incident on Tel Aviv, since several Israeli Air Force planes were nearby - it was at them or at their bombs that the Syrian missile was fired.

The Israeli army later said that the country was mourning the death of the Russian plane. However, she believes that Damascus, as well as Iran and Hezbollah, are responsible for what happened. Israel considers the Syrian side “fully responsible” in this situation. In addition, the country is ready to provide the Russian government with all the necessary information.

There were 15 Russian servicemen on board the downed reconnaissance plane. No survivors are reported. The plane crashed 30 kilometers off the coast of Latakia, and eight ships and boats of the Russian Navy were involved in the search.

A statement was made by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov:

“The approach to the targets was carried out at low altitude from the Mediterranean Sea. At the same time, Israeli aircraft deliberately created a dangerous situation for surface ships and aircraft in the area. The bombing was carried out near the location of the French frigate Auvergne and in close proximity to the Il-20 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces that was landing. Using a Russian plane as cover, Israeli pilots exposed it to Syrian air defense fire. As a result, the Il-20, which has an effective reflective surface an order of magnitude greater than that of the F-16, was shot down by an S-200 missile. Israeli aircraft controls and F-16 pilots could not help but see the Russian plane as it came in for landing from an altitude of five kilometers. Nevertheless, they deliberately went for this provocation. The command of the Russian group of troops in Syria did not warn the command of the Russian group of troops in Syria about the planned operation. The hotline received a notification less than one minute before the strike, which prevented the Russian plane from being brought to a safe zone. We regard these provocative actions of Israel as hostile. As a result of the irresponsible actions of the Israeli military, 15 Russian servicemen were killed. This absolutely does not correspond to the spirit of the Russian-Israeli partnership. We reserve the right to respond appropriately."

The Kremlin is concerned about the incident. Here's what presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said:

Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration - Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation“The situation is being analyzed. You know that the first data from this analysis were announced in a statement by the Ministry of Defense. The actions that were called provocative were assessed very clearly. Therefore, there is no need now to add anything to such a clear statement that was made by our defense department. Everything else comes later."

How did it happen that the Syrian air defense system did not work “friend or foe?” Reasons Head of the analytical department of the magazine “Soldiers of Russia” Anatoly Matviychuk:

— There is such a situation that our planes, as allies of Syria, are equipped with a “friend or foe” system. As a matter of fact, [to] target Syrian air defense weapons, this aircraft was quite problematic. This system constantly asks...

— Could the “friend or foe” system fail? Why didn't it work?

- No. This is a guaranteed system. Certain passwords are entered there. These passwords have also been communicated to the Syrian air defense, since they are our allies. It is problematic to aim the weapon, because the aiming system will definitely malfunction and refuse to hit your aircraft.

— Is there a risk of similar repeated incidents?

— We learn from mistakes. After a Turkish fighter shot down our plane, we began flying with cover. Maybe now we will fly with cover.

Answered the same question Chairman of the PIR Center Board Evgeniy Buzhinsky:

— The rocket does not have a “friend or foe” [system]. The S-200 complex is not “friend or foe.” It simply detects the target, locks on and goes to the target. Another thing is that indeed, if they fired or launched a missile at the F-16 and it was covered by the Il-20, which has a reflective surface, naturally, as Konashenkov correctly said, an order of magnitude greater, naturally, this missile hit the Il-20, and not in the F-16. She didn’t retarget anything there, the Israeli just made a maneuver and covered himself with our plane. But just imagine, you’re driving along the road, and suddenly something flies towards you from the side (you’re driving in the far right lane), and a truck is walking in the next one. You - once! — stood under a truck, and the car flying from the side crashed into the truck, not into you. I think so because the S-200 is not the smartest missile. This is a fairly old complex. This is not the S-400 or the S-500, where the missile is already more advanced.

— Can what happened be explained by a version of an immediate mistake by the Syrian air defense forces?

- What do you mean by mistake? The Syrian air defense system is working, they see four F-16s flying. Well, naturally, they don’t just fly to flap their wings, but to strike. Naturally, they are brought into a combat position and begin to intercept or fire at these targets. Nothing, no mistake. There is normal work in war conditions.

The Israeli Ambassador was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry due to the situation with the Il-20 plane shot down in Syria.

Tel Aviv did not comment on the situation as a whole and new statements by the Russian military at the time of publication of the material. There was no particular interest in the incident in Israel either, he says Israeli journalist and analyst of the Izrus Internet portal Alexander Kogan:

— The day of mourning is coming, Yom Kippur. That is, Syria, Iran, Iraq and so on - there are some references to what happened on the territory of Syria, about the plane shot down, as I understand it, by Syrian air defenses, but I want to upset you or make you happy: this is not a key topic for Israel to date. We begin fasting in seven hours, which will last 25 hours. If the Israelis launched an attack on Syrian territory, then in order to take advantage of a landing Russian plane, they had to thoroughly know the schedule of landings, departures, and flights of Russian planes. Do you think that this is really a realistic scenario for the development of events, that there really seems to be coordination going on in this regard - guys, at 00:23 minutes our plane will land at such and such an airfield? I doubt.

— The Israeli Air Force usually attacks Iranian targets in southwest Syria, near the Israeli border. And what could they, accordingly, do in Latakia?

“I don’t know, I don’t have the slightest idea, because, firstly, once again, as I told you, at the moment there is no official confirmation from the Israeli side that it was the Israeli Air Force that bombed any objects in Latakia. Secondly, as if in Latakia, as far as I know in general, the level of coordination and what is happening in Syria between Israel and Russia has always been at the highest level. There, Russian planes flew into Israeli territory several times, and problems of this kind were resolved very quickly. There were no conflict situations. In this matter, again, it means that maybe something went wrong in coordination, if indeed we are talking about Israeli planes. I think at this point officials will refrain from making any comments until it is truly clear what this is all about.

There are regular reports in the press and from the Syrian authorities about Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory. Typically, the targets are Hezbollah and pro-Iranian units. Israel takes a principled position and, as a rule, does not comment on the possible participation of its aircraft in such operations.

One of the most important achievements of the 20th century was jet civil aviation. Modern, economical and comfortable aircraft have connected the whole world, allowing you to get to anywhere on the planet in a matter of days. At first, jet aircraft demonstrated low reliability. But by the end of the century, flying by plane had become safer than driving a car. And with the growing reliability of technology, the importance of the human factor began to grow. Human errors. Today, accidents in aviation occur only after many mistakes by different people involved in ensuring the flight.

However, sometimes disasters happen for completely monstrous reasons, when planes are shot down by the military. Most often this happens due to human error or coincidence. But there have been situations in history when the catastrophe was completely difficult to explain by an accidental error. One of them is the South Korean Boeing 747 shot down over Sakhalin on September 1, 1983.

The causes of the Korean Air Lines Boeing 747-230B crash (flight KE007) date back to 1979. The USSR sent its troops into Afghanistan, after which relations with the United States sharply deteriorated. The sluggish post-Vietnam Cold War received new impetus. Demonstrative saber rattling, provocations on the borders, grandiose military exercises on both sides. All this happened in the Far East. Throughout 1982-83, American carrier strike groups regularly approached Soviet military installations in the region. For example, on April 4, 1983, 6 American attack aircraft entered Soviet airspace several tens of kilometers deep and staged a simulated bombing mission. The situation was tense, all that remained was to wait for the slightest mistake.

And an error occurred. The ICAO commissions investigating the crash considered the most likely reason for the deviation of flight KE007 from the route to be an error by the pilots who incorrectly configured the autopilot and then did not perform the appropriate checks.

Boeing 747-230B HL7442

The South Korean Boeing 747 was flying on the usual route New York - Seoul with an intermediate stop in Anchorage. The flight was supposed to take place over the Pacific Ocean east of Kamchatka, skirting the USSR. However, due to malfunctioning navigation equipment, the plane veered off course from the very beginning. The situation was complicated by the intersection with an American RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft in the air. The Soviet side subsequently provided data that at some point the aircraft marks on the locator screens merged into one. From that moment on, Soviet radars guided the passenger plane, believing it to be an American military reconnaissance aircraft. Civilian pilots flew towards the Soviet borders, unaware of the terrible mistake.

When the Boeing 747 approached the Soviet borders, Su-15TM fighters were scrambled from the Yelizovo airfield to intercept. Thinking that an American intelligence officer was flying towards them, the Soviet military predicted the development of further scenarios. They believed that the RC-135 would pass close to the USSR border, but would not enter Soviet airspace. And they aimed the interceptors based on these considerations. But the passenger plane went straight across the border. While the erroneously targeted interceptors tried to catch up with him, they burned the fuel, and the Boeing 747 peacefully passed almost over their airfield and left USSR airspace. Now he was over the Sea of ​​Okhotsk outside the official airspace of the USSR.

American reconnaissance RC-135

After such a “breakthrough of the borders” of the USSR by an “enemy plane,” an ambivalent atmosphere reigned at the command posts. On the one hand, the military was overwhelmed by the excitement of the hunt, because the target was “locked” in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. On the other hand, they were afraid of punishment for such a “breakthrough.” More fighters take off to intercept. And one of them, a Su-15TM from the duty flight of the 777th Fighter Aviation Regiment from the Sokol airfield under the control of Gennady Nikolaevich Osipovich, catches up with the passenger plane. The deviation from the route at this moment was 500 km.

Gennady Osipovich, having approached the Boeing, reported that he was observing the aircraft’s navigation lights. At the same time, he found it difficult to determine a specific type. Attempts to request Boeing by answering machine “friend or foe” were unsuccessful. From the ground they once again clarified whether the navigation lights were on, to which they received an affirmative answer. The interceptor pilot was tasked with forcing the observed aircraft to land. Being out of sight of the Boeing pilots, Gennady Osipovich turned on his navigation lights for a while. After this, an order came from the ground to open warning fire from a cannon. The Su-15 fired several long bursts, expending more than 200 rounds.

Su-15TM.

Meanwhile, Boeing pilots decide to ascend to a new flight level, where fuel consumption is lower. The plane begins to climb and slows down. And at the same moment, Osipovich receives an order from Anatoly Kornukov, who is at the command post (at that moment the commander of the 40th Fighter Aviation Division in the Air Defense Forces of the country in the Far East) to destroy the target. Due to Boeing's maneuver, the interceptor jumps forward and ends up lower and ahead. To reach the opening fire position, he sharply reduces speed and falls down 2 kilometers.

The violating Boeing has only 3 minutes left to fly in USSR airspace. Its pilots are still unaware that they have veered off course and are in hostile airspace. And at this time, the nervousness of the Soviet military is growing. From the ground they are required to urgently destroy the target before it flies away. Osipovich turns on the afterburner, lifts his nose and, with an interval of two seconds, fires two R-98 missiles at the passenger Boeing. The first missile hits the rear of the fuselage, the second demolishes part of the left wing. On the ground, they are looking intently at the locator screens, because the mark of a huge plane falling apart in the air is in no hurry to disappear. They are trying to point a nearby Mig-23 at the mark so as not to miss the “enemy”. But the mark disappears. Together with 23 crew members and 246 passengers.

The next day, September 2, the Soviet media issued the following message:

On the night of August 31 to September 1, an aircraft of unknown origin from the Pacific Ocean entered the airspace over the Kamchatka Peninsula, then violated the airspace of the USSR for the second time over the island. Sakhalin. At the same time, the plane was flying without aeronautical lights, did not respond to requests and did not communicate with the radio dispatch service.

Air defense fighters scrambled to meet the intruder plane tried to assist in bringing it to the nearest airfield. However, the intruder aircraft did not respond to the signals and warnings of Soviet fighters and continued to fly towards the Sea of ​​Japan.

But, despite the desire of Soviet propaganda not to notice the downed plane, there were other states in the surrounding world. In South Korea and the United States, thousands of people took part in rallies and marches against the actions of the USSR. Soviet flags were burned. On September 5, US President Ronald Reagan spoke, calling the attack on a Korean plane a “crime against humanity” and “an act of barbaric cruelty.” At the same time, Reagan advertised the emerging GPS system.

At that time, the USSR was feverishly trying to figure out how to explain what had happened. On September 6, at a meeting of the UN Security Council, the Americans presented detailed transcripts of Soviet radio communications and flight maps of a passenger airliner with a deviation from the course. Denying the downing of the plane was madness. By September 9, a press conference was prepared at which the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Ogarkov, presented the Soviet version of what happened.

The marshal expressed regret over the loss of life and laid the blame for what happened on... America. According to the Soviet version, what happened was a carefully planned American action to open the Soviet air defense system.

Boeing 747 flight KE007 took off from Anchorage Airport with a delay. And it so happened that it was very precisely synchronized with the flights over Kamchatka of the American radio intelligence satellite Ferret-D. While a passenger plane was passing the air borders of the USSR, the satellite was over the region and observed the Soviet air defense systems turning on.

The moment when the Boeing 747 began to gain altitude and at the same time lost speed was presented by the Soviet military as a cunning attempt to break away from the interceptor, which was not capable of flying at such a low speed.

It was stated that the deviation from the standard airline course and the violation of Soviet airspace was an intentional act of the pilots.

“It has been irrefutably proven that the intrusion of a South Korean airline plane into Soviet airspace was a deliberate, carefully planned intelligence operation. It was controlled from certain centers in the United States and Japan. The civilian plane was chosen deliberately for her, without regard, and perhaps even with the expectation of human casualties. Hence all the grave consequences of this extraordinary “incident,” as it is called in the Western press. Naturally, all responsibility for what happened falls entirely on its organizers,” - Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces Nikolai Vasilyevich Ogarkov.

According to the marshal, the Soviet interceptors did everything possible to prevent a disaster: they tried to get in touch, opened warning cannon fire, and tried to force the “reconnaissance” flying without identification lights to land. It was all a lie. Gennady Osipovich did not try to get in touch, because this required switching to other frequencies. Warning fire was opened with armor-piercing shells, which are not visible either at night or during the day. The passenger plane was flying with its lights on.

The USSR's last hope to prove that it was a reconnaissance aircraft was an attempt to recover the black boxes of the downed Boeing before the Americans. To be the first, a whole special operation was carried out with fake beacons and imitation of work on the “found” beacons. While the Americans drove away the Soviet ship and worked in the area, Soviet ships picked up real black boxes. But this did not bring them joy. There was no sign of a reconnaissance mission. The Korean pilots had no idea until the very last moment that they had deviated from the course. The recordings were classified and transferred to ICAO only in 1993 at the direction of Boris Yeltsin. Until that moment, the Soviet side said that it was a reconnaissance mission, and America was to blame for everything, which exposed a passenger plane to Soviet missiles.

Different official points of view on what happened and the secrecy of the black boxes gave rise to many theories about the “true reasons” for what happened. Among them were wonderful stories about the fact that the USSR shot down a reconnaissance plane without passengers, but the USA, in order to make a bunch of corpses and blame the USSR for this, deliberately shot down a plane with passengers. You've already heard a similar story somewhere, haven't you?

It is also worth mentioning that in 2015, the Japanese Foreign Ministry declassified documents in which senior US administration officials, immediately after the disaster, confidentially notified the Japanese that the plane was confused with an American reconnaissance aircraft and shot down by mistake. In official statements at the time, Washington insisted that Moscow shot down the plane deliberately.

Gennady Nikolaevich Osipovich.

On the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, Komsomolskaya Pravda published an interview with Su-15TM pilot Gennady Osipovich, who was almost 60 years old at that time.

“At first I couldn’t determine that it was a Boeing. He walked far. And when I got closer, I saw that two rows of portholes were burning. I didn't see any people in the salon. You can't see much from three hundred meters. Then we corrected the recording of our radio exchange with the ground. They made it look like I had reported: “The flasher is not on.” To convince the world that we did not know that the plane was civilian. (Civilian aircraft are required to always fly with “flashing lights” - navigation lights on. But military aircraft are not.) Although I honestly reported that the “flashing light” was on. So that people on the ground understand that this is a civilian.

I believe there were only crew on the downed plane. And, obviously, scouts. They thought that our ground-based air defense systems would turn on and they would detect them all. I'm saying what I know. I am a performer. They told me: "Ferret!" I won’t say that this is a gopher. They said: “Fill it up!” - failed.

It seems to me that the Boeing and its passengers were shot down by the Americans. They needed a provocation. It will turn out good. It won't work either. Everything was beneficial for the CIA. So, there were two planes. I shot down not a passenger plane, but a reconnaissance aircraft. And the Americans shot down the airliner with passengers, so that they could later declare that the USSR was an evil empire! And convince the world that in fact there was no intelligence officer!

Previously, [the date September 1] was noted. Gathered with family or at work. And - for my, so to speak, professional suitability... After all, I managed to crash the plane! But it's not that simple! And now I don’t celebrate it anymore.

I have no questions. Except one. To the authorities. Shkurny. Many of us received double salaries for the plane I shot down. Everyone but me. Is there justice? And I don’t even want to talk about the order! Delivered a year later! "For success in combat and political training." The Order of the Red Star, which is given to everyone! But I completed my combat mission!”

"Prayer Tower" at Cape Soya in Japan. Memorial to the victims of flight KAL 007

Everyone knows the wisdom that you need to learn from mistakes. Analyze, draw conclusions, take measures to prevent this from happening. Experience gained in blood should be considered invaluable. However, reality demonstrates that the military continues to shoot down planes due to its own crookedness. Instead of taking responsibility for their actions, they justify their own incompetence with the same algorithms they used decades ago. And as long as there are Kornukovs, Osipovichs and Ogarkovs in the armies, the safety of civilians will remain in question.

Post prepared by Alex Kulmanov

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported details of the disappearance of a Russian military aircraft in Syria. As official representative of the department Igor Konashenkov said, Israeli fighters deliberately created a dangerous situation and exposed the Russian Il-20 to fire from the Arab Republic’s air defense systems. As a result, 15 of our servicemen died.

The crash site has already been discovered; it is 27 kilometers west of the village of Banias in the province of Latakia. Eight ships of the Russian Navy are participating in the search and rescue operation, including a vessel with deep-sea vehicles.

Communication with the Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft was lost the day before at about 10 pm. At that moment, he was over the Mediterranean Sea, 35 kilometers from the coast of Syria. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The airliner was returning to the Khmeimim airbase.

It was at this moment that Israeli warplanes attacked Syrian targets near the city of Latakia. They used guided bombs. What these goals were is not reported. A total of four F-16 aircraft took part in the raid. The approach to the targets, as specified in the Russian defense department, was carried out at low altitude precisely from the Mediterranean Sea.

“At the same time, Israeli aircraft deliberately created a dangerous situation for surface ships and aircraft in the area. The bombing was carried out not far from the location of the French frigate Auvergne and in close proximity to the Il-20 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces that was landing,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

As noted in the Ministry of Defense, Israeli pilots actually exposed the Russian plane to the fire of Syrian air defense systems, which repelled the raid. Il-20 is a fairly large ship, created on the basis of the civilian Il-18, capable of accommodating up to one hundred and twenty-two passengers. Its reflective surface is an order of magnitude greater than that of the F-16. The missile fired by the Syrians from the S-200 complex hit the Russian plane.

“Israeli aircraft controls and F-16 pilots could not help but see the Russian plane as it came in for landing from an altitude of five kilometers. Nevertheless, they deliberately went for this provocation. The command of the Russian group of troops in Syria did not warn the command of the Russian group of troops in Syria about the planned operation. The hotline received a notification less than one minute before the strike, which did not allow the Russian plane to be brought into a safe zone,” added Igor Konashenkov.

Currently, the search and rescue operation in the area of ​​the Il-20 crash continues. The Ministry of Defense emphasized that it regards these provocative actions of Israel as hostile. As a result of these irresponsible actions, 15 Russian military personnel died. And this absolutely does not correspond to the spirit of the Russian-Israeli partnership. The Russian military says it reserves the right to take adequate response actions.

The Il-20 plane disappeared the day before at about 23:00 (Moscow time). He was returning to the Russian Khmeimim airbase. The aircraft was 35 km from the Syrian coast when contact with the crew was lost. This was reported to the Russian Ministry of Defense. There were 14 people on board. "Morning" is following the latest details.

16:06. The defense ministers of Russia and Israel discussed the incident in Syria by telephone. The details of the conversation remain unknown, reports the Daily Storm Telegram channel.

15:30. The Israel Defense Forces is ready to provide the Russian Federation with all the information necessary to investigate the destruction of the Il-20. “Israel will share all relevant information with the Russian government to study the incident and confirm the facts,” RIA Novosti quoted the Army press service as saying.

14:38. The Israeli army has finally commented on the situation with the downed plane. Israel mourns the crash of the Il-20, according to a statement released today. TASS writes about this.

11:55. The Federation Council stated the need for a tough conversation with Israel against the backdrop of its hostile actions, which led to the death of 15 Russian soldiers, reports RIA Novosti.

11:50. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman.

“The blame for the downing of the Russian plane and the death of the crew lies entirely on the Israeli side,” Shoigu said. He reminded Lieberman that Russia has repeatedly called on Israel to refrain from attacks on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, which could threaten the lives of our military. TASS writes about this with reference to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

11:45. The crash site of a Russian plane has been discovered. The IL-20 was found 27 km west of the village of Banias (Latakia).

“Fragments of the crew’s bodies and personal belongings, as well as aircraft debris, were lifted aboard the Russian ships,” RIA Novosti quotes the Ministry of Defense as saying.

11:25. Meanwhile, Damascus refuses to communicate with the media. “There are no comments on this issue,” the press service of the political department of the Syrian army responded to a request about the incident with the downed Russian Il-20 to RIA Novosti.

10:50. The Ministry of Defense officially stated that the Il-20 was shot down by mistake from a Syrian S-200 air defense system. The plane was exposed to Israeli fighters who carried out strikes on Syrian territory. The Ministry of Defense described Israel's actions as hostile and provocative. The department added that it “reserves the right to take adequate response actions.”

10:25. Experts have put forward a new version of what happened to our plane. Syrian air defense could not shoot down the Il-20. Surely they warned about the flight of the Russian aircraft. Using portable air defense systems, it is difficult to ensure that such a large aircraft with four engines crashes to the ground. This opinion was expressed in a conversation with RIA Novosti by the head of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Konstantin Sivkov.

He suggests that the Il-20 was shot down by Israeli fighters.

10:20. Information has emerged that Russian aviation, navy and air defense are on full combat readiness. However, there is no official confirmation, notes the Telegram channel “SMI_li”.

9:20. An “unforeseen incident of a critical nature” could have occurred on board the plane with the Russian military. A source in the international search and rescue authorities reported this to Interfax. The agency's interlocutor put forward a version that the wreckage of the plane could have fallen into the Mediterranean Sea and sank.

8:50. The French also disowned the missile strike. “We deny any involvement in this attack,” Francesoir quoted an army spokesman as saying.

8:30. Israel remains silent for now. The military refused to comment on the attack on the SAR and the disappearance of our plane, RIA Novosti reports.

“We do not comment on reports from abroad,” a spokeswoman for the defense army press service told the agency.

8:20. Meanwhile, CNN, citing a source in the American government, reports that a Russian plane was shot down by Syrian air defenses while intercepting Israeli missiles.

8:15. Nothing is known yet about the fate of the servicemen; the IL-20 is now being searched for. The Navy rescue tug "Professor Nikolai Murov" is located near the port of Tartus.

8:10. Four Israeli Air Force F-16 aircraft struck Syrian territory. Later, data appeared about missile launches from the French frigate Auvergne in the Mediterranean Sea. This is the FREDA air defense frigate, which is armed with 32 Aster 30 missiles with a launch range of up to 120 kilometers.

8:00. Earlier, information appeared about an Israeli missile attack on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Several explosions occurred in Latakia - several enterprises and a plant, as well as a power plant, were attacked, RIA Novosti reports. At the same time, a military source in Syria said that the missiles were fired from the sea. Seven people were injured as a result of the attack.

In Syria, on the night of September 18, a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft with 14 servicemen on board disappeared. It soon became known that the Il-20 was shot down by Syrian air defenses.

However, Russia stated that the incident was the fault of Israel - under the cover of a Russian plane, Israeli pilots exposed it to fire from Syrian air defense systems. Korrespondent.net tells the details.

Il-20 disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea

Late in the evening of September 17, while returning to the Russian Khmeimim airbase over the Mediterranean Sea, 35 kilometers from the Syrian coast, contact with the crew of the Russian Il-20 aircraft was lost.

By the morning of September 18, Russian forces discovered the wreckage of the plane and the remains of the dead. There were 15 people on board the plane, all of them died.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that he was shot down by Syrian air defenses, but through the fault of Israeli pilots who exposed him to attack.

“Using a Russian plane as cover, the Israeli pilots exposed it to Syrian air defense fire. As a result, the Il-20, which has an effective reflective surface an order of magnitude greater than that of the F-16 (they were used by the Israeli military - ed.), was shot down by a complex C missile -200,” said department representative Igor Konashenkov.

The S-200 anti-aircraft missile is equipped with a semi-active guidance head, that is, it is aimed at a target that is “illuminated” by the tracking radar.

Israeli planes, which Syrian air defense forces were trying to hit, attacked targets in the Latakia area on September 17. The attack was carried out from the sea. According to the Syrian state agency SANA, the target of the attack was industrial plants.

The Russian side is convinced that the Israeli military initially created a dangerous situation.

“The bombing was carried out near the location of the French frigate Auvergne and in close proximity to the Il-20 aircraft that was landing,” says Konashenkov.

Russia is confident that the Israeli pilots “could not help but see the Russian plane,” but “nevertheless, they deliberately committed this provocation.”

At the same time, Israeli aircraft did not announce their intention to strike in advance.

“The hotline received a notification less than one minute before the strike, which did not allow the Russian plane to be moved to a safe zone. We regard these provocative actions of Israel as hostile. We reserve the right to adequate response actions,” said the speaker of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman, said that the blame for the downing of the Russian plane and the death of the crew lies entirely with Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces expressed condolences over the death of the crew of a Russian military aircraft in Syria and described its version of events.

The cause of the death of a Russian Il-20 military aircraft in Syria was “extensive and indiscriminate” fire from Syrian air defenses, the Israeli military said in the first official response to Moscow’s claims.

"Israel places full responsibility for the incident on the regime of Bashar al-Assad, whose army shot down the Russian plane. Israel also considers Iran and Hezbollah to be involved in an accidental incident," the IDF notes.

Representatives of the Israeli Defense Forces are ready to cooperate with Russia on the incident with the downing of a Russian Il-20 aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea and are ready to share the information they have with Moscow.

The IL-20 is equipped with a side-view radar system, an infrared scanner, optical sensors and a satellite communications system.

The vehicle and its modifications are used for electronic reconnaissance, electronic warfare and collection of telemetric information during missile testing. In Syria, Il-20s monitored demilitarized zones.

How Russia lost planes

Previously, Russia lost fighters, attack aircraft and transport aircraft in Syria.

At the beginning of May this year, a Russian Su-30SM fighter crashed in Syria. It crashed after takeoff from Khmeimim airbase, killing both pilots. The Russian Ministry of Defense cited a bird getting into the engine as a possible cause of the crash.

Then the total number of Russian aircraft lost in Syria reached seven. At the same time, only two aircraft were combat losses - a Su-24 bomber shot down by the Turkish Air Force in November 2015 and a Su-25 attack aircraft shot down by militants in Idlib in February 2018.

The biggest loss of Russian aviation in Syria was the crash of an An-26 transport plane in March of this year, which killed 39 people. The Russian Ministry of Defense then reported that the plane did not reach the runway of the Khmeimim airfield by about 500 meters and collided with the ground.

During the operation in Syria, Russian authorities officially acknowledged the death of more than 90 military personnel.

Russia began a military operation in Syria in the fall of 2015, supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In three years, with the support of Russian aviation and the Iranian military, Assad managed to take control practically.

Aggravation in Idlib

In early September, the situation around the Syrian province of Idlib, the last hotbed of resistance to Damascus, escalated. The Wall Street Journal wrote that Bashar Assad approved the use of chemical weapons and the United States is preparing a response - a military strike or economic sanctions.

The Russian side, in turn, said that in Idlib Washington was preparing “a staged chemical attack to launch a missile strike on Syrian forces,” but at the UN it called on the United States to unite on Syria.

On September 17, negotiations between the presidents of Russia and Turkey took place in Sochi, following which Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced their intention to create a demilitarized zone 15-20 kilometers wide along the perimeter of Idlib by October 15.

At the same time, Shoigu announced that the expected offensive operation in Idlib, from which Moscow and Damascus were dissuaded by the United States and other Western countries, would not take place.

Israel in Syria

Israel frequently shells Syrian territory, and incidents involving missiles or military aircraft constantly occur on the Syrian-Israeli border.

On September 3, it was reported that Syrian air defense forces shot down two Israeli spy drones east of Damascus. But the Israeli military did not confirm information about the losses of the UAV.

On July 24, a Syrian Air Force Su-22 aircraft was shot down by Israeli air defense. Two Patriot interceptor missiles were launched at the Syrian Sukhoi after the aircraft, according to the Israeli army, penetrated two kilometers into Israeli territory.

Video of the interception of a missile by Syrian air defenses, which Israel allegedly fired at Damascus airport on September 16:

The Israeli government intends to recognize the control of the SAR authorities over the territories in southern Syria - at least, the Washington Post wrote about this at the end of July.

According to the publication, the Israeli authorities will take this step within the framework of agreements with Russia. As noted, Israel will also begin work on implementing the agreement on the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian troops.

Moreover, in exchange for Tel Aviv’s step, Russia will agree with Iran on the withdrawal of Iranian army units from southern Syria.

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