Russian soldier rams truck into Putin’s prized Su-25 fighter jet: Report

A Russian soldier is reported to have rammed a truck into one of President Vladimir Putin’s prized Su-25 fighter jets, rendering it unusable.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian government for comment via email.

Why It Matters

It adds to the many military jets Russia has lost throughout the war in Ukraine. Russia’s air force has suffered extensive casualties—both in cases of friendly fire, and as a result of Ukrainian forces shooting down Putin’s military jets.

By April 2024, General Christopher Cavoli, the head of the U.S. European Command, told American lawmakers that Russia had lost around 10 percent of its aircraft fleet since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

What To Know

The crash happened after a soldier from the city of Chelyabinsk in west-central Russia—who didn’t have a driver’s license—attempted to drive a Russian truck in annexed Crimea, according to Telegram channels Crimean Wind, and VChK-OGPU, a news outlet that purports to have inside information from Russian security forces.

The soldier was driving at a high speed between two parking lots for Russia’s military jets at an airfield in Simferopol, and collided with the Su-25 jet.

“The damage caused to the Ministry of Defense amounted to about 386.8 million rubles [nearly $4 million],” the Telegram channels said.

Russian forces were also then unable to carry out their assigned operations as they lacked the resources to do so.

The Russian soldier was sentenced to one year of suspended imprisonment with a probationary period of one-and-a-half years, according to the Telegram channels.

The loss comes days after a Ukrainian drone barrage is reported to have targeted the Smolensk Aviation Plant, which produces the Soviet-designed Su-25 ground attack aircraft, as well as Kh-55 and Kh-59 missiles.

Ukraine has attempted to strike facilities in Russia that play a role in facilitating the country’s war efforts. These targets include airfields, military plants, ammunition depots and warehouses, and oil hubs and refineries.

Dutch open-source intelligence defense analysis website Oryx has visually confirmed that 235 Russian aircraft have been destroyed and 46 damaged since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Oryx has also visually confirmed that 97 Ukrainian aircraft have been destroyed since the beginning of the war, with four damaged and one captured.

What Happens Next

Both Russia and Ukraine will continue to lose significant numbers of personnel and military equipment in the grinding war, which enters its fourth year later this month. U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to bring an end to the conflict, and is committed to brokering peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.