A Russian defense ministry report says the Ilyushin-20 aircraft was downed by a Syrian antiaircraft system, because the Israeli F-16 pilots were using the Russian plane as a shield and drew an S-200 missile to it, TASS reported Wednesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry is upgrading security on Russian military bases in Syria, and installing automated control instruments, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters on Wednesday, following the downing of an Ilyushin-20 plane by the Syrian defense system. The military plane’s fifteen passengers and crew are missing.
Meanwhile, Cypriot media reported that the Russian army closed off part of Cyprus’ airspace, land and sea until next Wednesday, which Israeli officials have confirmed.
The chief military investigation department of the Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal inquiry into the crash, committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told reporters. “Russian Investigative Committee investigators and forensic experts work at the accident scene together with representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry,” she said.
Deputy Prime Minister Borisov said the Kalashnikov corporation has come up with “technical solutions in the form of automated control instruments that will be installed there to boost the defense of the facilities.”
According to Russian Defense Ministry reports, radio communications with the Ilyushin-20 were lost at around 11 PM Moscow Standard Time on Monday, September 17, when the aircraft was on a mission over the Mediterranean Sea, some miles away from the Syrian coast.
“The label marking the Ilyushin-20 on the navigation control radar disappeared at the time when four Israeli F-16 jets were delivering strikes at Syrian facilities in Latakia Governorate,” the Russian report said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent his condolences to President Vladimir Putin over the downing of the Ilyushin-20, and accused Israel of responsibility for the incident, the SANA news agency said on Wednesday.
“On behalf of the Syrian people and myself, we express our deep condolence over the fall of the Russian jet on the Mediterranean, causing the martyrdom of the Russian heroes who were doing their noble duties along with their colleagues of the Russian military forces in the fight against terrorism in Syria,” Assad said.
SANA added that “the regrettable incident was a result of the Israeli usual high jinks which always use the dirtiest means to achieve its lowly goals and carry out its aggression in our region.”
“We are confident that such painful acts would not affect you and us to continue the fighting against terrorism,” the Syrian president said.
Israeli Air Force Commander Amikam Norkin will arrive in Moscow Thursday to hand over the IDF data on the plane crash in Syria, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office said on Wednesday. “The Air Force commander his the delegation will present data on the incident in all aspects, including preliminary information and main conclusions of the investigation,” the Spoeksperson’s Office said, adding that the Israeli delegation will inform Russia “of Iran’s ongoing attempts to supply Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement with strategic weapons and to gain a military foothold in Syria,” which was the reason for the F-16 attack in the first place.