Su-34 Pilot Killed My Brother – Ukrainian Residents Recall Horror After Downing Russia’s Top Fighter Bomber

Russian Su-34 fighter bombers have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Firstly the report on Russia’s top warplanes’ underperformance and getting shot-down amazed many defense experts. Then the shocking revelation about its navigation system dumbfounded many in the security establishment. 

Now there is another news about Su-34 fighters, which has been reported by France24. According to the reports, Ukraine had shot down a Russian fighter jet, whose two pilots parachuted into the northern city of Chernihiv and did the unimaginable act.

Yulia Hrebneva, a resident of Chernihiv, told France24 – “We went down there into the cellar on the fifth of March just to tidy up, change the sheets, and as it happened just a couple of minutes after we went down, the house started to collapse,” she explained.

The wreckage of the downed Sukhoi-34 still lies in the spot where it fell. Five houses were destroyed during the incident, and one person was killed.

Disaster struck Svitlana Voyteshenko’s family that fateful day. We saw something had fallen, and there was smoke. My brother decided to go and see what was happening. He went out and saw the Russian pilot had landed, and he ran after him. My brother chased him just there in the chicken coop, but the pilot killed him, Svitlana said.

The EurAsian Times recently reported that Russian Su-34 fighters were shot down in Ukraine and downed warplanes allegedly used basic GPS receiver devices taped to the dashboards.

Photo of Su-34 Cockpit Showing Commercial Garmin GPS Equipment (Defense Blog)
Photo of Su-34 Cockpit Showing Commercial Garmin GPS Equipment (Defense Blog)

However, there’s more to the disappointing performance of Russian bombers than the lack of a reliable navigation system. The Su-34 fighters have reportedly been shot down in massive numbers over Ukraine.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who broke the news about Russians allegedly using GPS taped to the dashboard of fighter jets, said, Russians are exhibiting the poor quality of their systems.”

The Su-34 is regarded as one of Russia’s most powerful fighter bombers. With a range of 600 miles and a payload capacity of 12 tons, it can fly in any weather conditions, day or night.

Sukhoi Su-34 - Wikipedia
Sukhoi Su-34 – Wikipedia

Experts termed the downings as shocking as these suave bombers have been allegedly shot down in huge numbers by a numerically and technically inferior Ukrainian military.

Military aviation expert Babak Taghvaee told The Sun Online that “their (Russia) biggest weakness which could have been revealed if they had held the air parade was lack of enough Su-34s,” referring to the canceled flypast at Russian Victory Day celebrations last Monday.

Ukraine has received spare parts from NATO states to bolster its air force, which pales before Russian high-end warplanes. Not just that, the Ukrainian Air Force has claimed to have bombed the “hell out of Russia in Snake Island.”

On May 7, the Ukrainian military released a video of two consecutive aircraft bombings on Snake Island in the western Black Sea, confirming that the Ukrainian Air Force is still fighting for dominance.

Selling Parts Of Su-34 To Raise Money

Ukrainians are celebrating the annihilation of Su-34s in unusual ways. One group has gathered components of downed Sukhoi jets, which can be purchased for $1,000 online.

The money raised goes to the Ukrainian armed forces. One can donate and get their piece of the Su-34 debris on a dedicated website. The souvenir is a blue-colored key chain portrayed as an “original piece of Su-34 aircraft skin.”

The initiative is organized by the Drones for Ukraine Foundation, headed by volunteer Yura Vysoven.

“For a long time, I have been thinking about how to gather more money to buy drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We must look for money abroad. It is also obvious that everybody who wanted to donate did it already. It is necessary to involve the general public. It means that we must give something for a donation. Ukrainian postal stamps are great, but we must find something cooler,” Vysoven wrote in a Facebook post.

He continued: “We collected pieces of a shot-down Su-34 and made these souvenirs from them. Not for sale, only for those who donate over $1000 for drones.” 

According to Vysoven, the charity is currently looking for suitable components of a fallen Ka-52 attack helicopter to add to its souvenir collection.

According to open-source images collected by the Oryx, at least nine Su-34s have been downed by Ukrainian forces. The debris, which was used to extract parts and put them up for charity, contained the tail number RF-81251 and the call sign “31 Red,” according to the Ukrainian Defense ministry.