MAJOR Russian news outlets boasted a precision Lancet drone attack on a Ukrainian warplane on the ground – only to find that they had destroyed a worthless decoy.
Footage shows the strike on Dolgintsevo in Dnepropetrovsk region, and at first sight it looks authentic.
Russian news outlets boasted a drone strike on what they thought was a Ukrainian warplane on the ground
But the plane was just a worthless decoy
An explosion is seen from aerial footage and the valuable Su-25M1 appears to have been obliterated.
“A satellite photo shows that this Ukrainian Su-25 was completely burned out,” says one Russian report.
Major news outlets including the Kremlin’s official newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta seized on the attack on the airbase in Kryvyi Rih, Volodymyr Zelensky’s home city, some 45 miles from the frontline.
But Russian sources soon realised they had hit a fake warplane – a decoy.
“There is reason to believe that the Su-25 destroyed by the Lancet turned out to be a decoy,” posted Military Informant channel.
“This is evidenced by the atypical connection of the wings with the engines, the lack of mechanisation of the wings and the crookedly made cockpit canopy.”
It concluded that “the enemy drew conclusions after previous attacks and built a high-quality model of the Su-25”.
FighterBomber Telegram channel agreed “this was a dead plane”.
“There is no proper junk around the plane,” said the channel.
“It’s weirdly positioned….no fire, no people [around].”
The decoy may have been made from wood or parts of disused Su-25s, said analysts.
Both sides are using decoys in the war.
In September, Ukraine lost two MiG-29 fighters and three Su-25 attack aircraft in a successful Russian attack on Dolgintsevo.
The one-seater Su-25SM [NATO classification Frogfoot-A] is designed to support troops day and night in any weather.
This Isn’t the only embarrassing blunder Russian soldiers have made recently.
Earlier today we told how 12 troops died after they accidentally blew themselves up.
The soldiers were cooking on an open fire when they triggered an explosion from nearby ammunition.
Video footage shows the explosion and at first it looks authentic
East2WestFootage from onboard the drone shows the moment before impact[/caption]
East2WestOnline sleuths pointed out obvious differences compared to a real Su-25[/caption]
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