- Russia shot down one of its own Su-35 fighter jets, UK intelligence said Wednesday.
- The briefing came after earlier unconfirmed repors and imagery about a possible take-down.
- The Su-35 is one of Russia's most modern warplanes, and very few have been taken out.
Russia shot down one of its own Su-35 fighter jets in a recent friendly-fire incident, UK intelligence suggested.
The British Ministry of Defence said in its latest daily intelligence update on Wednesday that Russian air defense "higly likely" shot down the advanced jet.
The incident took place on Setpember 28 near Tokmak, a city in occupied Ukraine near the front lines in the Zaproizhzhia region, the UK update said.
Russian channels had been posting about the takedown earlier, along with videos and photos appearing to show the hit and its aftermath.
Tokmak, is some 12 miles from the front, and a Russian base there would be bristling with heavy air-defense, the UK update said.
"These headquarters would typically be protected with dedicated short and medium-range air defense systems," the brief said. "These are almost certainly held at very high readiness, as Ukraine continues to conduct effective deep strikes against such locations."
The Ukrainian journalist Andrii Tsaplienko posted a black-and-white picture on Telegram on September 30 of what appears to be a destroyed fighter jet lying in a field.
The anonymous account OSINTtechnical, posted a similar picture of the Su-35. Another image, posted by the same account, appears to show a stream of smoke in the night sky, possibly after the jet was hit.
Insider is unable to independently verify the pictures. The Russian Defense Ministry has also not confirmed the reports, though Insider has reached out for comment.
Russia's air force has lost around 90 planes since the start of the war in Ukraine, UK intelligence said last week.
Since the early weeks of the conflict, Russia has struggled to establish control over Ukrainian airspace, even with its far larger and more sophisticated air force.