A Russian Su-25 “Frogfoot” ground-attack aircraft was shot down Friday over Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast in what multiple sources describe as a friendly fire incident involving another Russian Su-25, according to pro-Russian military bloggers and open-source intelligence analysts.
The incident was initially reported by Russian aviation-focused Telegram channel Fighterbomber and confirmed that the pilot survived with a broken arm and was hospitalized. He noted that a commission will investigate the circumstances of the crash to determine fault.
The report was corroborated by another Russian Telegram outlet, Aviahub, which added that the aircraft was not downed by enemy fire.
Fighterbomber later posted video footage showing two Su-25s flying in formation before one appears to fire rockets toward the other. The video’s authenticity has not been independently verified, but its circulation has prompted broad commentary across military and OSINT channels.
It turns out a Russian Su-25 was shot down by its wingman in another aircraft during a launch of unguided aviation rockets near Soledar. https://t.co/Tqln0N0frP pic.twitter.com/E2gWrX6aPD
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) June 13, 2025
OSINT analyst OSINTtechnical noted that the aircraft appeared to have been hit by an unguided rocket launched from the other Su-25, suggesting a grave misfire during a close-formation flight.
Incident slowed down, zoomed in.
Possible chance that his wingman’s Su-25 just fell apart midair. pic.twitter.com/9RMqFLi3Qp
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 13, 2025
Russian milbloggers indicated that the crash occurred near the Russian-occupied town of Soledar. Fighterbomber claimed Russian infantry rescued the pilot under fire from Ukrainian FPV drones, though this has not been independently confirmed.
The Russian Air Force has lost numerous Su-25s throughout the war in Ukraine, with many incidents attributed to technical failures. As Militarnyi previously reported, Russia’s Su-25 fleet is now averaging 40 years in age and has suffered from an increasing number of malfunctions and emergency incidents. In March, a Su-25 went down in Russia’s Primorsky Krai after a double engine failure during a training flight.
