A Russian fighter jet was hit by a Stinger missile over the small town of Popasna in Donbass. Ukraine confirms this. According to a report, Major General Kanamat Botashov sat in the cockpit and was killed. This was actually retired after a crash in 2013.
A Russian air force general has been shot down and killed in eastern Ukraine, according to a BBC report. Major General Kanamat Botashov's plane was hit by a Stinger missile over the small town of Popasna in the Donbass on Sunday, the British broadcaster reported in its Russian-language service. Botashov would be the highest-ranking Russian air force officer killed since the beginning of the aggressive war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian media reported the shooting down of a Russian Su-25 fighter jet on Sunday. As the BBC now reports, citing several sources, Botashov was in the cockpit. The death of the pilot has not been officially confirmed by the Russian side. According to Ukrainian sources, he would be the ninth Russian general to die in the war.
The officer, who came from the Caucasus, was considered an excellent aviator. However, he was released from the army and placed in reserve in 2013 after the crash with a Su-27. As it turned out, he had flown the fighter jet without the necessary certification. At that time, Botashov was able to save himself with an ejection seat.
It is not clear how the general was deployed in Ukraine. However, according to the media, a covert mobilization of military personnel who have been retired has been going on in Russia for months. At least nine Russian reserve officers over the age of 50 are said to have died during the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainians have repeatedly reported killing Russian generals on the ground since the invasion began on February 24. According to the "New York Times", "many" of the dozen or so Russian commanders who were killed are said to have fallen into the crosshairs of the Ukrainian armed forces, thanks to US information. The deaths of the generals were partly confirmed by the Russian side. For example, in early March, the city government of the southern Russian city of Novorossiysk reported that General Andrei Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of the 41st Army, had died "heroically" in Ukraine.
