Russian jet pilot says there were 'no warnings' by Turkey before plane wa...

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(:;:;:] News World news Russia Turkey crisis

Russian jet pilot says there were 'no

warnings' by Turkey before plane was sh1
down
14:45, 25 NOV 2015

UPDATED 16:29, 25 NOV 2015

BY GEMMA MULLIN

Captain Konstantin Murakhtin told a Russian TV station that his

plane was flying over Syrian territory and did not violate Turkish

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airspace

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The surviving pilot of a Russian jet downed by Turkey has said there were no
warnings before they were struck out of the sky, it's reported.
Captain Konstantin Murakhtin told a Russian lV station that his plane was flying over

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Syrian territory and did not violate Turkish airspace as the first picture of the pilot

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Speaking for the first time since the incident yesterday. Mr Murakhtin said he knew
the region Like the back of his hand and "couldn't possibly have flown into Turkish
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airspace".
Mr Murakhtin was rescued early on Wednesday by Russian and Syrian commando and
was speaking in televised comments from the Russian Hemeimeem air base in Syria.
Mr Murakhtin, who was at the controls, said Turkey did not give any visual or radio
signal before the jet was shot at an altitude of 6,000, he told Russia's Rossiya 1
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The warplane as it was downed in the Kizildag region of Turkey, close to the Syrian border, on Tuesday
ISIS

Follow the events as they happen on our live blog

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Mr Murakhtin added that he wants to keep flying missions from the base "to pay
them back for my commander".
"There were no warnings, either by radio or visually. There was no contact
whatsoever," TASS quoted Murakhtin as saying at a hospital in the Syrian province of
Latakia, where Russia has an airbase.
"If they wanted to warn us, they could have shown themselves by taking a parallel
course. There was nothing. And the missile hit the tail of our aircraft suddenly, we
did not see it in time to do an anti-missile manoeuvre."

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11 Most Read In Nev

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Russian jet pilot says there were 'no warnings' by Turkey before plane wa...

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killed by militants after bailing out.

Meanwhile Russian forces were reportedly pounding insurgent-held areas in Syria's
Latakia province, unleashing a wave of air strikes on mountains near where the
Russian jet was shot down.
Jahed Ahmad, a spokesman for a rebel brigade in the region affiliated with the Free
Syrian Army, said the Russians appear to be taking "revenge" for the plane's downing
by Turkey, a key backer of the rebels in the area.
Speaking from inside Syria via Skype, he said the Russian jets were providing cover

for advancing Syrian ground forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies.

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The Russian jet moments after it was shot over claims it had flown into Turkish air space

It comes after Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 bomber on Tuesday, saying it crossed
into its airspace from Syria despite repeated warnings.

President Vladimir Putin said the Russian plane remained in Syria's skies when it was
shot down.
He described Turkey's action as a "crime" and a "stab in the back", warning of serious

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* Reflnlifilemter~
The president has praised the navigator and said he will be awarded the Order of

Mirror

Courage, according to AFP.

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Read more: Russia Turkey crisis: What we know so far after fighter jet is shot down

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The dead pilot has posthumously been named a Hero of Russia, the country's highest
military award.
Captain Murakhtin is "safe and sound" at an air base in Latakia province after being

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rescued in an overnight 12-hour rescue operation.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting on the Russian
armed forces activities in Syria

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A statement from the Syrian armed forces said a special unit carried out overnight a
"qualitative" operation with Russian forces and rescued one of the two pilots.
The

In a statement carried by Syria's official news agency SANA, the army said the Syrian

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and Russian forces penetrated into the areas where "terrorists" are entrenched at a

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depth of 4.5 kilometers and rescued the pilot. It said he is in "good health".
Read more: Russian warships and fighter jets bombard Syrian-rebel territory where
fighter jet was shot down by Turkey
One of the marines, named as Alexander Pozynich, was killed during the operation
and has been posthumously awarded the Order of Courage, it's reported.
Putin today ordered state-of-the-art air defence missile systems be deployed at a
Russian air base in Syria.

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The S-400 missile systems, which will be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's

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coastal province of Latakia, Located just about SO kilometres (30 miles) south of the

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border with Turkey, are capable of targeting Turkish jets with deadly precision.

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The Russian president's move raised the threat of a military confrontation between
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his country and Nata member Turkey.

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If Russia shot down a Turkish plane, Nata would be required to intervene.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that the Russian missile cruiser
Moskva has already moved closer to shore to protect the Russian aircraft flying
missions near Syria's border with Turkey with its Long-range Fort air defence system.
Mr Shoigu also said that from now on all Russian bombers will be escorted by

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fighters on their combat missions in Syria.

The Mirror

He said that his ministry has severed all contacts with the Turkish military.

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Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who cancelled his planned trip to Turkey
after the incident, described the shooting down of the Russian plane as a "planned
provocation".
He said the Turkish action came after Russian planes successfully targeted the oil
infrastructure used by Islamic State, alleging that Turkey benefited from the oil trade.
Mr Lavrov also said that Turkish territory was used by "terrorists" to prepare terror
attacks in other countries, but offered no details.

The two crewmembers can be seen parachuting in the sky after the plane was shot down near the
Turkish-Syrian border

He said that Russia "has no intention to go to war with Turkey", but added that
Moscow will re-consider its ties with Ankara.
The Russian foreign ministry has already warned Russians against travelling to
Turkey, and some Leading Russian tourist agencies suspended the sales of tour
packages to Turkey.
Mr Lavrov's comments came as the Turkish embassy in Moscow was targeted by
protesters hurling eggs and stones.
Windows at the embassy's compound were shattered and eggs pelted against the
walls after a protest there went sour this afternoon.

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DailyMirror

11/25/2015 2:40 PM