Putin says Turkey’s downing of Russian warplane will have ‘serious consequences’; Syrian rebels shoot down rescue helicopter
One of the Russian pilots reported to be dead after falling into rebel hands, while second pilot still missing
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Turkey of being "accomplices of terrorism" after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian bomber near the border with Syria.
The crisis escalated when a Russian helicopter on a mission to rescue the jet's two pilots also came under fire from Syrian rebel positions and crash landed, killing one of the would-be rescuers. Russia said that one of the jet's pilots was also shot dead.
Russian military spokesman General Sergei Rudskoi said Russia would cease all military contact with Turkey, as international concerns grow that the incident could snowball into a major conflict.
The general said the Su-24 bomber “fell in Syrian territory, four kilometres from the border” on Tuesday.
“The crew ejected,” the general said. “According to preliminary information, one of the pilots died after being fired upon from the ground.”
The fate of the second pilot was not immediately known.
In a statement published on the defence ministry's website, Rudskoi said a Russian soldier had been killed when his Mi-8 helicopter was “damaged by gunfire and had to land” during a failed search-and-rescue operation to retrieve the pair.
Two helicopters were used in the operation. The rest of the crew onboard the stricken Mi-8 were evacuated to the Hmeimim air base in Syria's northern Latakia province, Rudskoi said, adding that the helicopter was hit by mortar fire coming from territory under rebel control.
Putin warned Turkey of “very serious consequences” for relations.
“We understand that everyone has their own interests but we won’t allow such crimes to take place,” Putin said at talks with Jordanian King Abdullah in Sochi. “We received a stab in the back from accomplices of terrorism.”