A new chapter in the war of narratives on social media about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine took place on Saturday when milblogger Fighterbomber posted on his Telegram channel that a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter bomber had been shot down.
The pro-Moscow channel, however, claimed that the Russian aircraft had apparently been shot down by an F-16, a Lockheed Martin fighter that has been operated by Ukraine since late July.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine have confirmed the claim, while other Russian bloggers have disputed Fighterbomber’s claim that the Su-34 was dropping glide bombs when it was hit about 50 km from the front line.
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Unlike the widely reported downing of an S-70 drone by a Russian fighter jet, the alleged downing of the Su-34 did not yield any images or videos that could help clarify the incident.
Although the downing of the Su-34 has not been acknowledged, some outlets have pointed to a Patriot surface-to-air missile system as the most likely weapon used to bring down the aircraft.
Su-34s have been lost frequently
Both Russia and Ukraine have avoided putting their aircraft at risk of attacking defense systems in conflict regions. Instead, drones have been used for high-risk missions.
Ukraine, which reportedly received about a dozen F-16s from European countries, still lacks experienced pilots for the more complex U.S.-made aircraft.
In August, an F-16 was lost in an unexplained accident while helping to counter a massive attack by Russian drones and cruise missiles.
The Su-34 has been one of Russia’s most heavily lost combat aircraft.
The Oryx website, which keeps an up-to-date list of aircraft lost by both sides, lists at least 35 of these attack planes lost, including shootdowns and accidents.
United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the manufacturer of the Su-34, has been delivering new batches of the aircraft regularly, but the number of jets is not known.
Despite the lack of evidence regarding the alleged downing, clashes are expected between the Western fighters being received by Ukraine and Russian aircraft as the Ukrainian Air Force gains confidence in them.
