Actions of the Israeli military led to the crash of Russia's Il-20 jet in Syria, the Israeli pilots used it as a shield against Syrian air defense systems during the operation in the Latakia province, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2018) Actions of the Israeli military led to the crash of Russia's Il-20 jet in Syria, the Israeli pilots used it as a shield against Syrian air defense systems during the operation in the Latakia province, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry has said earlier that Russian Hmeimim airbase had lost contact with the crew of the Russian Il-20 military aircraft with 14 servicemen on board late on Monday. The aircraft disappeared from radars during the attack of four Israeli F-16 aircraft on Syrian targets in the province of Latakia.
"Using the Russian jet as a shield, the Israeli pilots put it in the fire of Syrian air defense systems ... Il-20 ... was hit by the S-200 system's missile," Konashenkov said.
According to the spokesman, the Israeli jets deliberately created a dangerous situation in Latakia. He stressed that Israel's aviation control systems could not but notice the Russian jet as it was landing.
"Israel did not warn the command of the Russian troops in Syria about the planned operation. We received a notification via a hotline less than a minute before the strike, which did not allow to take the Russian aircraft to a safe zone," Konashenkov said.
The spokesman noted that the search-and-rescue operation near the Russian aircraft's crash site in Syria continued.
