Six years ago, a Turkish F-16 fighter hit a Russian Su-24 fighter jet. The incident took place in the airspace of either Turkey or Syria, as both countries claimed differently. This air battle was followed by ejection by the pilot and the navigator, during which the pilot was shot to the ground by soldiers.
After that date, November 24, 2015, relations between Moscow and Ankara deteriorated. A joint political attack began between them. Turkey refused to apologize to Russia, saying it did not know the nationality of the downed fighter jet.
A few years later, on May 23, 2021, the Turkish online publication Nordic Monitor revealed that Turkey had hidden a solemn fact from the Russians and the world and that they had lied in their original allegations.
It turns out that the Turks knew about the identity of the downed fighter in advance, and the commander of the Turkish Air Force, Abidin Yunal of the Turkish Air Force, personally issued the order to shoot down the fighter. Another significant thing – Ankara claimed to Russia and the world that the pilot who had close links to the Gulen movement decided to shoot down the Russian fighter of the Turkish F-16.
Nordic Monitor published declassified documents from the testimony of Turkish Air Force Commander Abidin Unal in 2017 during the investigation into the incident. Turkish Colonel Ali Durmush voiced the testimony to the court that day, gave additional information to a Nordic Monitor journalist about the incident. Turkish Colonel Ali Durmush, who voiced the testimony to the court that day, provided additional information to a Nordic Monitor journalist about the incident.
“When the Turkish pilot informed him of two Russian planes flying over our border, he ordered them to take down planes if they crossed Turkish airspace and closed.” Durmush also said that a few minutes after that call, the Turkish F-16 shot down the Russian Su -24 fighter.
You can see the documents published on the Nordic Monitor website.
