How did Russia repatriate the body of the Su-25 pilot from the hands of the rebels?

A Russian Su-25 pilot confronted rebels in Syria before using a grenade to kill himself to avoid being captured alive. Photo: RT

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on February 6 that it had repatriated the body of pilot Major Roman Fillipov with help from the Turkish government. However, Moscow did not specify how the soldier's body was retrieved from the rebels.

Fillipov was the pilot who flew the Russian Su-25 that was shot down by rebels in Idlib province on February 3. After the plane was shot down, the pilot parachuted out and continued to be chased by rebels. Pilot Fillipov then detonated a grenade to avoid being captured by the rebels.

It is not yet clear which rebel group was behind the attack on the Russian Su-25, although Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, is believed to have held Fillipov's body.

However, on the evening of February 6, the body mysteriously disappeared and the rebels later learned that the body had been taken and returned to the Russian side. It is not yet clear how the body of pilot Fillipov was repatriated to Russia, but many hypotheses have been put forward.

It is believed that elements of the pro-Turkish Free Syrian Army (FSA) bribed the guards and took Filipov's body across the Syria-Türkiye border before transferring it to Russia.