Russian fighter jets will now accompany all of Moscow's missions against Islamic State targets in Syria, the General Staff said. Prior to Tuesday's attack, Russian bombers were conducting their missions without air cover.
Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber aircraft that Turkey said had violated its airspace. Both pilots ejected, and one was fatally shot while parachuting to the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry later confirmed.
Moscow has insisted its aircraft was not in Turkish airspace and posed no threat. The Russian Defense Ministry has suspended military contact with Turkey over the plane downing, which President Vladimir Putin called "a stab in the back."
Later Tuesday, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter conducting a search-and-rescue mission for the other pilot was damaged by a rebel missile in Syria. One naval infantry soldier reportedly was killed in that attack.
The surviving crew reportedly was evacuated to the Russian base at Hmeymim, Syria.
Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi, a spokesman for the General Staff, released a statement, saying in part:
"The General Staff is currently working out additional measures to ensure the security of the Russian air base. First: all actions of strike aircraft will be carried out only under cover of fighter planes. Second: measures will be taken to strengthen defense. To this end, the cruiser Moskva, equipped with Fort air defense system, similar to S-300, will assume position in the coastal region of Latakia. We caution that any targets, representing a potential danger for us, will be destroyed. Third: Contacts with Turkey on military lines will be discontinued."
Russia took the neglected Hmeymim Air Base in Latakia – just 30 miles from the Turkish border – and transformed it into the strategic center of Moscow's military operation against the Islamic State. The base houses hundreds of military personnel and has bays for more than 50 aircraft.
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| -1 | Edit | Delete The one's attacking and killing a marine was the Syrian Turks, trained by TRurkish special forces, and armed by NATO.. They FSA. They claim that they shoot the two pilots and killed them while they were in the air still.
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| 3 | Edit | Delete Russia shoould now support the Kurds and shoot any Turks that stick their nose into Syria. Reply 
| 1 | Edit | Delete The new war tactic for the Russian presently is to use long range missiles carry by mobile trucks in Latakia, and point precisely to enemy combatants near the border with Turkey. Doing this, there is no need to use bombers (e.g. SU-24), which normally are used to bomb enemy combatants near border of countries because of its précised guided system. This is a matter to bomb proper targets but not to people in the order side of the border. This action was carefully elaborated to not antagonize the government of Turkey. This did not work, and the results were the lost of a SU-24, 2-pilots killed in the air, and a helicopter crew also killed.
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| 0 | Edit | Delete Someone on ZH did analysis of Turkey's claim and conclusion is that even if Russian plane did go that route it would have been in Turkish air space for no more than 28 seconds, which is not enough time to engage. Even if their claim is true which is very dubious, Turkey either engaged the plane before it entered their air space, shot at it after it left, or pursued into Syrian air space. Reply 
| -3 | Edit | Delete Turkey is a Nato country. All Nato countries are Enemies of Russia and Russian interests. Reply 
| 2 | Edit | Delete farwatchpost, yeah its clearly a provocation but also main supply lines of "moderate" rebels and terrorists are from Turkey so is it really unexpected : no not at all. I wouldn't be surprised if Turkey were making a lot of money from this war so if parts of the northern border are sealed they will lose a lot of revenues.....it is a provocation clearly but nothing so unexpected. Reply 
| 3 | Edit | Delete Do the needful Russia , prove to the mad men that there is no room for punitive actions in the russian Books of actions , however the response must be effect but measured Reply 
| 3 | Edit | Delete Well hello boys and girls from around the world! Am I the only Russian here? Greetings from snowy Moscow! First of all to all our Turkish friends - too bad your Government had decided to act so treacherously - a State-level terrorist attack - with rockets onto our unsuspecting jet returning to base. Hope your people (majority) will choose peace over WW3 after this incident. As for our relations - also too bad - so many Turkish businesses here in Moscow, building our best buildings, making hundreds of millions of USD, selling us all sorts of things we like. And our tourists, millions of them, most likely will change destinations, leaving your nice hotels and beaches empty and those hundreds of millions of USD will go elsewhere... Too bad... I always dreamt to visit Turkey...thought it was a nice place with nice people... Reply 
| 4 | Edit | Delete although i am not russian -- my heart goes to russia and her people in their leaders' and soldiers' courageous DEFENSE of the sovereignty and right to exist of a country - syria -- that has asked for the help of the great , generous people of russia.
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| 3 | Edit | Delete Sigraven, CUT OFF THE OIL AND/OR GAS. TURKEY entirely depends on russian oil -- if not for the oil smuggling terrorists that TURKEY CLEARLY HARBORS AND DOES BUSINESS WITH ..
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| 3 | Edit | Delete siberianhusky, ACTUALLY -- RUSSIA should FIRST ORDER -- I mean ''ORDER" the united states to CEASE AND REMOVE ITSELF from latakia province with the kurds...regardless of what the kurds "leaning with the USA" (THE SUNNI KURDS -- NOT the shiite kurds, remember they have problems with each other TOO) --
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| 4 | Edit | Delete belyi.sokol, I AM not russian -- but asian, from the philippines, (unfortunately -- my country IS one of those ''slaves" of the USA - with our colonial mentality -- shameful) --
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| 2 | Edit | Delete Many NATO country citizens will not fight for the Turkish oil smugglers. Will Germans fight for Turks that they don't even like inside Germany? No. Will Americans die for the Turkish oil smugglers and terrorist warehouse suppliers? I doubt it. The US will launch missiles and push buttons from 30,000 feet, but they will not send in thousands of ground forces to be obliterated. Reply 
| 2 | Edit | Delete teddy j, thank you very much for your comments! Greatly appreciate all the support at this sad day for all and any Russians (and we are people of over 100 nationalities all mixed up) mourning the murder of our brave pilots, shot down unsuspected first by Turkish governmental "allied" jet and then mowed down by the "moderate democractic rebels"... F-word cowards... Reply 
| 2 | Edit | Delete Zhukov, all -- and i mean ALL ''WESTERN'' countries are HYPOCRITES.
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| 1 | Edit | Delete Nice and calm move of Putin...dont go any further Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Well said!
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| 0 | Edit | Delete belyi.sokol, It is shameful that the Turkish leadership are the oil smuggling terrorist warehouse directors of the Turk-Saudi-Qatari-CIA anti-Syrian mercenaries. Russia now has a free pass to eradicate the Turkish warehouse of terrorists and arsonists trespassing inside Syria as well as shoot down their F16s. While a world war would be very bad, Russia must punish the mercenary criminals who murdered those on flight 9268, the pilots of the SU24M, and the RU marine killed onboard the Mi-8. The G20 funded mercenaries and their sponsors are hopefully dead men walking. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Give them hell, Harry! Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete teddy j, Take a breath, teddy! :-)
Show new comments (0)cast235
Russia must give them a lesson, a REAL demo... Destroy all their headquarters.. Send bombers to bomb them in the area to the stone age. Kill all Turkmen Syrian leaders..Blow all their headquarters with air fuel bombs.. Prepare a MASSIVE land invasion with vehicles carrying Syrian army.
landauroj
Long range missiles (e.g. cruise missiles) must be fired from secured areas in Latakia coastline to bomb targets near the border with Turkey. It does not matter if missiles were out of precision or explode 3-4 meters inside Turkey. Turkey can claim that a missile has crossed its border but cannot shoot down any airplane. This is the way Russian must conduct its future operation in the province of Latakia.
farwatchpost
Therefore, Russia should deploy the same strategy dealing with any threat to their planes: shot first claim infraction later, fire air defense missiles into Turkish air space from across the border, as well as engage inside the Turkish air space if necessary.
as98119
Nato will continue aggressive stances against Russia, led, of course, by USA and UK, goaded onward by little Baltic states and the US satrapy called "Ukraine."
b00049568in reply tofarwatchpost(Show commentHide comment)
S A D
belyi.sokol
Fact is - our military really relaxed over there, sending our bombers without jet support. Now this mistake is corrected. I'll be sorry for any Turkish airforce ever appearing in Syrian air space after this. And whatever Turkish President hopes about no-fly zone in that border area, so his pet ISIS cut-throats could have a safe passage, no luck, even if no jets or bombers, we'll still vaporise those "innocent moderate democratic ISIS guerrillas" with a whole range of guided missiles we can shoot at that area from anywhere in South Russia - Caspian, Black sea, Caucasus, you name it!
I hope Turkey will find guts to admit to this act of war against Russia, punish the persons in charge and make peace. It's not Ottoman vs Russian Empire anymore. It's the potential start of the End of the World for the entire planet, if this spark is to escalate. And believe me, 99.9% of Russians aren't interested in wiping out the planet, even if we truly can. All of you Russia haters here should actually thank Mr. Putin that you, your loved ones and children are still breathing. If he'd be the monster you portray him to be, we'd already be exchanging missiles with NATO and you'd be all dead or waiting to die from radiation, wherever you're from...Thank God (Allah) that Putin is a calm, polite and actually a very reserved person, able to wait, swallow his pride and not react in anger or out of hate as whoever in Turkey did in this one particular incident.
teddy j
may RUSSIA -- PUTIN , all the russian personnel , the russian people and their loved ones -- and the people of syria who have placed great hope in russia's help ...
and STANDIING UP for JUSTICE in this world -- for HUMANITY in this world - for DECENCY in this world --
ALL BE BLESSED .
with success, with increased strength and with the embrace by the world that KNOWS what RUSSIA STANDS FOR -- THE TRUE FREEDOM of peoples, cultures and nations to be sovereign , unique and yet be part of building a common human family towards justice, fairness, friendship and sharing in common challenges for humanity.
RUSSIA - HER LEADERS - HER PERSONNEL - HER PEOPLE --
YOU ALL ARE THE HOPE of our human society everywhere. ALL blessings and good fortune to you and your loved ones -- and may you , as a nation find some comfort even in your great , tragic loss of those you love.
teddy jin reply to (Show commentHide comment)
CUT OFF THE OIL -- billions of dollars worth in lost revenue for russia but such cut-off ALSO increases the PRICE of oil and energy. BOTH GAS AND OIL.
THEN -- CUT OFF ALL RUSSIAN TOURISM to turkey -- cut off all trade to turkey (billions more lost -- but as trade goes -- OTHER MERCHANTS AND CUSTOMERS for russian products ALWAYS come in -- as the ''sanctions - counter sanctions" have already PROVEN.
turkey ? LET IT STEW in its own POT!
teddy jin reply to (Show commentHide comment)
say...
and with it -- russia should support the SHIITE KURDS FIRST -- let the sunni kurds stew for a while -- as RUSSIA IMPOSES AN ORDER to the USA TO LEAVE THE AREA -- BOTH ''Advisers" , ''boots on the ground", and other cia personnel - as well as ANY american pilots ANYWHERE in syria.
IF THEY REFUSE -- THEY SHOULD BE SHOT DOWN INSIDE SYRIAN TERRITORY.
SIMPLE - TO THE POINT --
RUSSIA OUGHT to also make CLEAR -- that the CASPIAN SEA FLEET IS FULLY ACTIVATED - as are the bomber fighters from inside russia towards turkey, nato, mediterranean -- as well as submarines and HOLD the ENTIRE mediterranean 300 miles off the coast of syria under RUSSIAN ''space".
meanwhile -- FULL-HIGH TRIGGER ALERT ON ALL RUSSIAN MISSILES, DEFENSE SYSTEMS ALL ACROSS THE LENGTH OF RUSSIAN BORDERS FROM SWEDEN TO UKRAINE --
FROM FAR EAST NORTHERN SIBERIA - PRIMORYE, SAKHALIN ISLAND, KURILL, BERING STRAIGHTS POINTED AT THE USA.
period.
further -- UNLEASH CHECHNYA'S WARRIORS UNDER the republic's leader KADYROV - who has been intent on destroying the ISIL terrorists and terrorists of all kinds , including chechens who had become TRAITORS to HIS RUSSIA .
AND DESTROY ALL ISIL , WAHHAB ACCOLYTES IN CENTRAL ASIA -- IN EVERY FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC - IN coordination with the leaders of such republics such as the very POWERFUL KAZAKHSTAN ARMY whose leader IS
ONE OF PUTIN'S senior mentors since the 1990s'.
once and for all -- this AMERICAN SCHEME of USING DUPLICITIOUS ''allies" have to be put in their place...PERMANENTLY. along with any further AMERICAN INTRUSTIONS INTO ASIA AND EURASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST.
THE SAUDIS AND QATARIS should be put on notice by russia -- THEY are in the cross -hairs of russia too -- and UNDER EXTREME WATCH by russia -- with their "oil REFINERIES" ON TARGET SIGHTS.
teddy jin reply tobelyi.sokol(Show commentHide comment)
but my HEART goes to your nation and people.
YOU DO NOT NEED TURKEY or any of its trade - customer or supplier.
CUT OFF THE OIL -- see how turkey likes DARK NIGHTS WITH CANDLES!
Zhukov
belyi.sokolin reply toteddy j(Show commentHide comment)
teddy jin reply toZhukov(Show commentHide comment)
what they are about is simple: they go around the world invading and conquering lands and cultures that are either too small or too weak or technologically and militarily not as advanced - in order to exploit their resources
which EUROPE AND THE WEST DO NOT POSSESS -- IN ORDER to ENRICH themselves at the expense of other peoples and cultures with RICH RESOURCES AND - collectively -- have the largest LAND TERRITORIES combined that europe and even the USA combined DO NOT MATCH.
when they can't TAKE LARGE , POWERFUL, STRONG COUNTRIES like RUSSIA , CHINA OR IRAN -
they then USE ''in-between'' countries that they have turned into ''vassals" or collaborators -- LIKE TURKEY - SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR, ISRAEL, countries in the pacific/asia region like MY home country philippines, japan, taiwan, korea, etc...
TO encircle and use as 'tools" to provoke the large countries LIKE RUSSIA OR CHINA...
FOR the goal of also conquering russia or china and have THEIR large territories and rich resources -- and ''consumer markets"
and tURN their PEOPLE into CHEAP LABOR ...
AGAIN -- in order to continue enriching the ''west"
IN OTHER WORDS -- THE WEST IS NOTHING MORE THAN ''modern-looking"
PLUNDERERS, THIEVES, GENOCIDAL SAVAGES AND BARBARIANS wrapping themselves in ''civilized" modernities and advancement...
while being the WORST kind of PARASITES on this planet - who have ABSOLUTELY no respect for cultures and their uniqueness...
and the west USES divisive ways -- in ''divide and rule" strategies. encouraging the WORST ELEMENTS in cultures -- corruption, torture, assassinations, TERROR, EXTREMISM, jealousies, old historical rivalries...
for WESTERN PLUNDER of countries.
that is what they are doing in the middle east -- in their ULTIMATE AMERICAN GOAL - over a hundred years now -- of TAKING RUSSIA HERSELF!
the west -- AMERICA in particular -- are UNWORTHY of even licking the bare feet of ANY RUSSIAN !! including a russian that works the farms and forests !!
they ARE UNWORTHY PARASITES! as far as i am concerned -- SAVAGES AND BARBARIANS OF THE WEST whose ALLIES are SAVAGES AND BARBARIANS IN THE EAST AND ORIENT and wherever the west can find SAVAGES AND BARBARIANS JUST LIKE THEMSELVES!~
qvasko 15
Jetsin reply tobelyi.sokol(Show commentHide comment)
Two thumbs up.
Zhukovin reply tobelyi.sokol(Show commentHide comment)
marcanhalt
marcanhaltin reply toteddy j(Show commentHide comment)
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