Russian authorities attributed the crash of a Su-57 near Moscow to a technical malfunction; pro-Russian bloggers are talking about “friendly fire”

This was reported by the Russian media outlet “Agency.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the aircraft crashed during a combat training flight. The pilot ejected and was unharmed. The fighter jet itself crashed in an uninhabited area, and there was no damage on the ground.

The Russian ministry did not specify the aircraft model. At the same time, “Kommersant,” citing a source, reported that the aircraft in question was a Su-57.

The Ministry of Defense cited a technical malfunction of the aircraft as the preliminary cause of the crash. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has opened a criminal case regarding violations of flight rules or flight preparation procedures.

Meanwhile, Russian pro-Russian blogger Vladimir Romanov hinted that the cause of the crash might be different. He stated that “a number of questions must be posed to the ‘BARS-Moscow’ air defense unit.”

Military analyst Kirill Mikhailov noted in a comment to “The Agency” that non-combat losses are a common occurrence for any air force. At the same time, he confirmed that in this case, some observers are considering the “friendly fire” theory.

The Su-57 is a fifth-generation Russian fighter jet that entered service with the Russian Aerospace Forces only in 2020. At least one in-flight crash involving a Su-57 is known: in 2019, during a test flight near Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the aircraft crashed due to a technical malfunction.

Previously, Su-57s had also sustained damage on the ground. In June 2024, Ukrainian intelligence reported that such an aircraft had been struck at the Akhtubinsk airfield. In May 2026, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that Ukrainian drones had destroyed two Su-57s at the Shagol airfield in the Chelyabinsk region.

In June 2026, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin called the Su-57 “the world’s best fifth-generation fighter today.”

As a reminder, on July 8, the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed a Su-35 aircraft belonging to the aggressor country, Russia.

On May 30, the Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out a large-scale and coordinated attack on enemy military facilities and critical infrastructure in Taganrog (Rostov Oblast, Russian Federation) and in the temporarily occupied Crimea. In total, 23 targets deep within enemy territory were struck.

One of the key locations was the military airfield in Taganrog, Russia. There, fighters from the 1st Separate UAS Center (“UAS Birds”) destroyed, among other things, two Tu-142 long-range anti-submarine aircraft.