The pilot of a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft was able to land after he was hit by a MANPAD missile fired from the ground by an AFU soldier.
Earlier, Kiev declared that the plane had been shot down.
The commander of the wing, said that the wingman’s plane was hit during a combat mission after attacking a target. The pilot of the damaged aircraft kept his composure and regrouped forward by command. Having detected the launch of the second missile, the squadron commander took up a position behind the damaged aircraft and then fired the infrared traps to cover his comrade-in-arms.
The damaged aircraft lost one engine. All electronics, including navigation equipment, failed. Nevertheless, the pilot was not only able to successfully land the plane, but also to clear the runway for other aircraft returning from combat missions to land.
