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Dave Majumdar, National Interest: Who Really Shot Down Russia's Plane?
These are the complicated circumstances surrounding the incident and what they mean for Russia and Syria.
The Kremlin is attempting to tamp down tensions following the downing of a Russian Ilyushin Il-20M Coot-A intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft by Syrian air defenses during an Israeli raid on Assad regime forces.
An Assad regime operated S-200 surface-to-air missile battery shot down the four-engine Russian turboprop as it attempted to engage four Israeli-owned Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters that were attacking Syrian targets. Fifteen Russian servicemen were killed during the incident, but officials in Moscow and Tel Aviv moved quickly to defuse tensions even though the Russian Ministry of Defense initially responded with fury against the Israelis. However, Russian president Vladimir Putin promptly ascribed the incident to the fog of war.
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WNU Editor: The Kremlin is publicly blaming Syrian anti-aircraft batteries for shooting down this Russian military aircraft. But from what I am hearing among Russian pundits .... they are blaming Israel and their war against Iran.
