The Russian pilot who was rescued after his plane was shot down by Turkey has made interesting revelations about the incident.
The Russian war jet as it was bombed down by Turkey
The surviving pilot of a Russian jet downed by Turkey has revealed that there were no warnings before they were struck down.
According to Mirror Online, the pilot, Captain Konstantin Murakhtin told a Russian TV station that his plane was flying over Syrian territory and did not violate Turkish airspace.
Speaking for the first time since the incident yesterday, the pilot said he knew the region like the back of his hand and "couldn't possibly have flown into Turkish airspace".
Mr Murakhtin was rescued early on Wednesday by Russian and Syrian commando and was speaking in televised comments from the Russian Hemeimeem air base in Syria.
A statement from the Syrian armed forces said a special unit carried out overnight a “qualitative” operation with Russian forces and rescued Murakhtin.
Murakhtin said Turkey did not give any visual or radio signal before they downed the jet. His colleague, who was named as Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshov, was reportedly killed by militants after bailing out.
Already, President Vladimir Putin has said the Captain Murakhtin and his rescuers should be decorated for bravery.
Accoring to AFP, the president praised the navigator and said he will be awarded the Order of Courage. The dead pilot has posthumously been named a Hero of Russia, the country’s highest military award.