Two Russian Su-35S multirole fighter jets collided over the Kursk Region on the evening of Sept. 7. The pro-war Telegram channel Fighterbomber was the first to report the incident, adding that the cause of the collision was still being investigated. Russian military blogger Yuri Kotenok confirmed the report in a now-deleted Telegram message, along with the fact that many key details of the incident remained unclear.
Additionally, the Telegram channel Voevoda Veshchayet (lit. “The Warlord Broadcasts”) which is run by Russian Aerospace Forces officer Alexei Zemtsov, said one of the pilots was killed and the other was evacuated. The Kursk-based outlet Pepel Kursk also reported that one pilot had died, saying the second managed to eject but was injured.
Voevoda Veshchayet also indirectly blamed outside forces, writing that the Ukrainians would “answer for this.” The channel provided no evidence that Ukraine was involved in the Russian plane crash.
Russia’s Defense Ministry had not commented on the collision at the time of publication. The Ukrainian authorities also had not officially claimed their involvement.
The Su-35S is a 4++ generation fighter — one of the most advanced combat aircraft in the Russian Aerospace Forces after the Su-57. It is equipped with the Irbis radar system and can carry R-37M air-to-air missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers.
In July, Ukraine’s Air Force confirmed that it had shot down an Su-35 on the eastern front. Russian pro-war channels, including Fighterbomber and Voevoda Veshchayet, also acknowledged that loss at the time. The latter described it as an “ambush” and claimed a Patriot air defense system on the ground had illuminated the target for Ukrainian aircraft. The pilot survived.
