Russia: Israel “Entirely to Blame” for Downed Aircraft over Syria
The Russian Defense Ministry presented the conclusions of its inquiry into the downing of the Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft over Syria last week. “The actions of the Israeli fighter pilots either lacked professionalism or were an act of criminal negligence,” the ministry asserted
IsraelDefense
| 23/09/2018
Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday formally blamed Israel for the downing of the Russian Il-20 aircraft last week over Syria, accusing the Israeli military of "criminal negligence."
"Today, we share detailed information about the crash of the Ilyushin Il-20 airplane of the Russian Aerospace Forces near the Syrian coast on September 17. We will present a minute-by-minute account of this tragic incident that was made based on the objective radar readings including those from the Plotto air information display system," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a press briefing.
According to the information presented by the ministry, the Il-20 crew began emergency descending after it was hit by a missile, with Israeli F-16 fighter jets using the Russian aircraft as a "shield" against Syrian air defenses. Konashenkov elaborated that an Israeli plane maneuvered toward the approaching Il-20 – which was considered another attack by Syrian air defense systems.
According to Konashenkov, the Israeli Air Force provided Russia with misleading information on the location of its airstrikes on targets in Syria, which prevented the commander of the Il-20 plane from relocating to a safe zone and led to its destruction.
The general also said that the IAF had notified Russia of its planned attacks on Syrian targets simultaneously with the beginning of the strikes instead of doing it in advance, thereby violating 2015 bilateral agreements to prevent such incidents in Syrian airspace.
Konashenkov emphasized that the ministry possesses an audio recording proving that the IAF had warned the Russians about the envisaged airstrike on targets in Syria when Russia's IL-20 was downed. "The talk was conducted in Russian. The Russian Defense Ministry has a record of the conversation," he stressed.
The Russian spokesman contradicted claims by the IDF that their jets had already been within Israeli airspace when the Syrian Army launched the missiles that hit the Russian plane, saying that F-16s left the area only ten minutes after receiving the information on the downing.
"The presented objective data testifies that the actions of the Israeli fighter pilots, which led to the loss of life of 15 Russian servicemen, either lacked professionalism or were an act of criminal negligence, to say the least. Therefore, we believe that the blame for the tragedy with the Russian Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft lies entirely with the Israeli air forces and those who made the decision to carry out such actions," Konashenkov concluded.
The Russian Defense Ministry presented the conclusions of its inquiry into the downing of the Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft over Syria last week. “The actions of the Israeli fighter pilots either lacked professionalism or were an act of criminal negligence,” the ministry asserted
Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday formally blamed Israel for the downing of the Russian Il-20 aircraft last week over Syria, accusing the Israeli military of "criminal negligence."
"Today, we share detailed information about the crash of the Ilyushin Il-20 airplane of the Russian Aerospace Forces near the Syrian coast on September 17. We will present a minute-by-minute account of this tragic incident that was made based on the objective radar readings including those from the Plotto air information display system," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a press briefing.
According to the information presented by the ministry, the Il-20 crew began emergency descending after it was hit by a missile, with Israeli F-16 fighter jets using the Russian aircraft as a "shield" against Syrian air defenses. Konashenkov elaborated that an Israeli plane maneuvered toward the approaching Il-20 – which was considered another attack by Syrian air defense systems.
According to Konashenkov, the Israeli Air Force provided Russia with misleading information on the location of its airstrikes on targets in Syria, which prevented the commander of the Il-20 plane from relocating to a safe zone and led to its destruction.
The general also said that the IAF had notified Russia of its planned attacks on Syrian targets simultaneously with the beginning of the strikes instead of doing it in advance, thereby violating 2015 bilateral agreements to prevent such incidents in Syrian airspace.
Konashenkov emphasized that the ministry possesses an audio recording proving that the IAF had warned the Russians about the envisaged airstrike on targets in Syria when Russia's IL-20 was downed. "The talk was conducted in Russian. The Russian Defense Ministry has a record of the conversation," he stressed.
The Russian spokesman contradicted claims by the IDF that their jets had already been within Israeli airspace when the Syrian Army launched the missiles that hit the Russian plane, saying that F-16s left the area only ten minutes after receiving the information on the downing.
"The presented objective data testifies that the actions of the Israeli fighter pilots, which led to the loss of life of 15 Russian servicemen, either lacked professionalism or were an act of criminal negligence, to say the least. Therefore, we believe that the blame for the tragedy with the Russian Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft lies entirely with the Israeli air forces and those who made the decision to carry out such actions," Konashenkov concluded.
