Russia finds wreckage of Il-20 reconnaissance plane mistakenly shot down by Syria

"The Russian Navy has deployed eight ships to search for the Il-20. The area where the plane crashed into the sea has been identified, it is located about 27 km west of Latakia province,"TASScited a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense yesterday.

Russian naval vessels have recovered body parts, personal belongings and debris from the plane. A Project 11982 oceanographic research vessel is heading to the scene, carrying a deep-sea submersible and sonar system to search for the plane.

The Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft lost contact with the Hmeymim airbase in Syria at the time four Israeli F-16s attacked targets in Latakia province. The Russian Defense Ministry later confirmed that the Il-20 was shot down by an S-200 missile fired by its Syrian allies, but blamed the Israeli F-16s for using the plane as cover.

Israel denies this accusation from Russia. "During the attack against the target in Latakia, the Russian plane that was shot down was not in our area of ​​operation," Tel Aviv said, adding that when the Syrian army opened fire, the F-16 fighters were in Israeli airspace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was "a tragic chain of circumstances that happened by accident", rejecting comparisons to the downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber by Türkiye in 2015. President Putin stressed that Moscow would take the matter seriously, while prioritizing the security of Russian servicemen in Syria.