Strana 15
A Russian Su-34 photographed
on July 1 at the Savaslejka air base
with one landing gear leg undeployed.
Russian losses
During the observed period Russia
verifiably lost three aircraft. None of these
losses occurred during combat flights, and
only one was directly connected to the war
against Ukraine. The first two losses were
accidents. On Tuesday July 1 a Su-34 fighter-
bomber crashed near the Savasleyka airbase
in Nizhny Novgorod region. The aircraft was
on a training flight when its left landing gear
failed to deploy during approach. The crew was
ordered to eject, which they did. The navigator,
Major Alexander Pavlov, however, suffered
injuries during ejection and died. The accident
may have been linked to greater wear and
poorer maintenance due to combat operations
in Ukraine. As a reminder, at the end of the
previous period Russian aviation lost several
Su-34s destroyed or damaged in a Ukrainian
strike on Marinovka airbase near Volgograd.
Within a single week it lost six of these aircraft.
Another accident occurred on Sunday July
6 deep inside Russian territory, near Kashtak
airfield in Chita district of Zabaykalsky Krai.
During a hard emergency landing, an An-2
bi-plane was irreparably damaged. The pilot
and ten paratroopers were on board. Nine of
the eleven people were injured. Why is this
relevant to the war in Ukraine? Because the
aircraft belonged to the paramilitary DOSAAF
organization, established back in Soviet times,
with the mission of “education for homeland
defense.”
The third confirmed loss occurred in the
night from Friday July 25 to Saturday July 26 at
Armavir airbase in Krasnodar Krai. Saboteurs
set fire to a Su-27UB. The fire damaged its tail
section and probably also its engines.
A Ukrainian F-16 fighter and the mobile complex that assists with aircraft maintenance during relocations between airfields.
Major Alexander
Pavlov was
killed on July 1
in the crash of
the Su-34.
Su-27UB.
UKRAINE
INFO Eduard
15
September 2025