Russian fighter jet crashes & explodes near Moscow ‘in feared friendly fire shootdown of Putin’s prized £37m warplane’

A RUSSIAN fighter jet has crashed and gone up in flames after a suspected friendly fire shootdown near Moscow. Vladimir Putin‘s prized £37million warplane was engulfed in a huge fireball after its pilot desperately steered it away from civilians. A prized fighter jet has been downed near Moscow Credit: East2West The aircraft was destroyed after a suspected friendly fire shooting Credit: Military Informer/e2w The military aircraft came down and exploded in the village of Lutsino during “a training flight”. Local reports have speculated it could have mistakenly been shot down by Russian air defences amid paranoia over repeated Ukrainian drone strikes. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Kyiv has been launching salvos of UAVs aimed at Putin’s energy and trade infrastructure in a bid to disrupt civilian life and push the tyrant towards the negotiating table. It is still unclear what caused the fighter jet crash and authorities are yet to confirm its circumstances. Each Sukhoi Su-57 twin-engine fighter jet is worth about £37million (stock) Credit: Getty Plumes of smoke were seen billowing Credit: East2West The aircraft has been identified in Russian Telegram channels as a Sukhoi Su-57, which cost around £37million each. They are the Kremlin’s most modern operational fighter and Moscow’s answer to America’s F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. The pilot reportedly remained at the controls long enough to direct the stricken jet away from nearby homes. He is believed to have ejected at the last possible moment. Most read in The Sun Eyewitnesses described seeing the jet crash and a parachute descending nearby. One image showed what appeared to be a parachute hovering above the site of the crash with a person seen dangling underneath. A local said: “The plane came down, and a parachute was descending nearby. “It practically happened right before our eyes. He definitely ejected, but I do not know whether he survived.” Another witness said: “The pilot ejected, and then the fighter jet exploded.” Black smoke was seen rising in a column from the crash site. Pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash claimed the pilot survived, while Baza reported that he had managed to eject “in time”. Russian authorities have opened a criminal case on “violations of flight rules or preparation for them” in the wake of the crash. Staunch pro-war Russian Telegram channel Romanov Light said: “A great many questions should be asked of the local air-defence forces.” The crash site is close to Kubinka military airbase, west of Moscow, although it has not been established that the fighter took off from there. The twin-engined Su-57 is Russia’s first purported stealth fighter and is designed for both air-superiority and ground-attack missions. Russia has used Su-57s during the war against Ukraine, generally launching long-range weapons from safe airspace rather than risking the scarce jets close to Ukrainian defences. It comes amid a series of successful Ukrainian strikes on the battlefield and beyond the frontline. Kyiv has launched several barrages of drones on “Russia’s Amazon” in recent weeks – sparking massive infernos ripping through the retail giant’s warehouses. On Wednesday, key logistics hubs run by e-commerce firm Wildberries were set ablaze leaving over £1billion in damages. The assault was part of Ukraine’s endgame blitz – a series of deep strikes targeting energy and logistics hubs in Russia. Comment now