First-person footage recorded by a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter pilot, from a camera that appears to be fitted to a helmet, offers a look at the experience of Ukrainian soldiers flying in the eastern Ukrainian region.
Even as war rages in eastern Ukraine, the footage shows a quick glimpse of roads in the Donbas, with cars and other vehicles traveling in both directions.
“Crazy first-person footage of a Ukrainian Su-25 air support jet flying over the combat zone in the East almost skimming trees,” Ukrainian Weapons Tracker wrote in a post.
The footage shows the Su-25 flying low to the ground, quickly navigating past fields, forests, and roads.
“As seen, the jet is armed with a classic setup – 4 B-13L 122mm rocket pods and 2 PTB-800 drop tanks,” the post continues.
Russia Downs Ukrainian Su-25 In Mykolaiv
Last Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have downed a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet that was operating in the Mykolaiv region.
Mykolaiv is a city in southern Ukraine, close to the Black Sea.
The statement also revealed that Russian forces had targeted and destroyed a radar station and two ammunition depots in the eastern regions of Ukraine.
Ukraine Kills Top Russian Fighter Pilot
Barely two weeks earlier, Ukrainian air defenses announced the death of Russian retired Major General Kanamat Botashev, a top Russian fighter pilot who was flying a Su-25 ground attack aircraft.
Su-25 fighter jets are used by both Russian and Ukrainian forces, and in May, BBC’s Russian-language service confirmed the claims by speaking to three former subordinates of Botashev.
Botashev is the highest-ranking Russian pilot to have been killed by Ukrainian soldiers this year. Born in 1959, the Russian fighter pilot graduated from the Yeysk Higher Military Abi
Botashev’s death was announced in a post on the Ukrainian General Staff’s Facebook page, revealing how the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade shot down an SU-25 aircraft using a heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile. Ukrainian troops fired the missile using an over-the-shoulder launcher.
#Ukraine: Crazy first-person footage of a Ukrainian Su-25 air support jet flying over the combat zone in the East almost skimming the trees.
As seen, the jet is armed with a classic setup – 4 B-13L 122mm rocket pods and 2 PTB-800 drop tanks. pic.twitter.com/Zi2XK2WUDJ— ?? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) June 8, 2022
Photographs of the aircraft in flames were also shared on Facebook, which revealed that the crash site was somewhere close to the city of Lviv in Ukraine’s west.
Pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Fighterbomber, used by Russian military pilots, published a short eulogy for Botashev following the strike.
“Goodbye Commander. There are few people on this planet who lived in the sky like you. The sky takes the best, today it took you,” the post reads.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
