24 November 2015 at 9:24 in the morning, a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft

was shot down near the Syrian-Turkey border by two patrolling Turkish Air Force
F-16 fighter jets as it was returning to the Khmeimim Air Base.[30][31] Accordi
ng to Turkey, the two Su-24's were believed to have been on their way to strike
Syrian Turkmen targets.[27]
Map released by the Russian Ministry of Defence. The red line represents what Ru
ssia claims was the Su-24M's flight path, while the blue line is the Turkish F-1
6 flight path. Dashed white lines represent the border.[32]
According to Turkey's statement to the UN Security Council, two aircraft, whose
nationalities were unknown at the time, violated Turkish airspace up to a depth
of 2.19 km (1.36 mi) for about 17 seconds.[4][33] According to Turkish officials
, the aircraft were given 10 warnings within the span of 5 minutes to change the
ir course.[34] The aircraft disregarded the warnings and were subsequently fired
upon by Turkish F-16s patrolling the area. One of the aircraft then left Turkis
h airspace and the other crashed into Syrian territory after being shot while in
Turkish airspace.[4] Based on its heat signature, an anonymous United States of
America official stated that the jet was hit in Syrian airspace after a short i
ncursion into Turkey.[35]
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Su-24 was downed at an altitude o
f 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) within one kilometre of the Turkish border while retu
rning to the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria.[31] Russia has steadfastly maintained t
hat "throughout its flight, the aircraft remained exclusively above Syrian terri
tory."[30] The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the aircraft was a Su-24 but s
aid that it had proof the jet was within Syrian airspace.[34]
According to the surviving Su-24 navigator, Captain Konstantin Murakhtin, neithe
r of the pilots in the two Turkish F-16 jets gave them any warning before engagi
ng. He said "it s impossible that we violated their airspace even for a second...W
e were flying at an altitude of 6,000 metres in completely clear weather and I h
ad total control of our flight path throughout."[36] [37]
Early reports from multiple Russian news agencies indicated that the aircraft ha
d been downed by a ground-based strike from Syrian Turkmen rebels, but the Russi
an Defence Ministry later confirmed the Turkish reports that the aircraft had be
en downed by Turkish fighter jets. CNN Trk reported that the Turkish military had
released a graphic of the Russian aircraft's flight pattern, which shows it cro
ssing the southern tip of Hatay Province before being shot down and crashing nea
r Turkmen Mountain.[34][38]
Casualties
Both pilots ejected after the aircraft was hit.[34] It was reported that one of
the pilots was captured by Turkmen Syrian opposition fighters in Syria. Initiall
y, the deputy commander of a Turkmen rebel brigade in Syria, later identified as
Alparslan elik, a Turkish citizen and Grey Wolves member,[39] claimed his forces
shot dead the two pilots as they descended with parachutes,[40] while a Turkish
official believed that both were alive.[41] Later, Russian officials[who?] conf
irmed that one pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Anatolyevich Peshkov was shot dead
,[42] while the other pilot was rescued.[43][44] The shooting of an ejecting air
craft pilot is in contravention of the Geneva Convention's Article 42, which sta
tes: "No person parachuting from an aircraft in distress shall be made the objec
t of attack during his descent."[45] RT journalist Roman Kosarev, who himself wa
s under attack on the same day in Latakia, was the first to interview the rescue
d pilot.[46]
The killed pilot of Su-24, Oleg Peshkov, was posthumously awarded the title of H
ero of the Russian Federation, while surviving weapon systems officer, Konstanti
n Murakhtin, and the killed rescuer, Alexander Pozynych, received the Order of C
ourage.[47]

Search and rescue

The Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency showed the initial video footage of the a
ircraft crashing and the two pilots parachuting down. Russian helicopters were r
eportedly conducting low-altitude combat search and rescue flights in the area t
o look for the pilot.[48] Two Mil Mi-8 helicopters were sent on the mission to f
ind and recover the pilots from the crash site. One of these helicopters was dam
aged by the small-arms fire of Syrian Turkmen Brigade militants, resulting in th
e death of a naval infantryman, and was forced to make an emergency landing.[49]
[50] The Free Syrian Army's First Coastal Brigade claimed that they subsequently
destroyed the abandoned helicopter using a U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW missile.[51]
Reactions
Involved parties
A few hours following the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke from
Sochi, where he was meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan,[52] warning of a "s
tab in the back by terrorist accomplices,"[34][53] that "we will never tolerate
such crimes like the one committed today"[28] and that Russia Turkey relations wou
ld be affected. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was due to visit Turkey the next
day to "smooth relations," while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was due
to visit Russia later in the year.[54][55] Lavrov canceled his trip after the in
cident.[56] Lieutenant General Sergey Rudskoy said: "We warn that every target p
osing a potential threat will be destroyed."[57] Proteste
groups fighting in the country and of those countries that were financing and ar
ming them; he mentioned Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as the strongest such bac
kers.[59]
Erdogan warned everyone to "respect the right of Turkey to defend its borders" a
nd said that the reason why worse incidents have not taken place in the past reg
arding Syria is because of the, "cool-headedness of Turkey." He also stressed th
at Turkey's actions were fully in line with the new rules of engagement adopted
after Syria shot down a Turkish jet in 2012.[60] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlt av
usoglu offered condolences and said the Turkish pilots did not know it was a Rus
sian plane.[61] Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu defended the action sayin
g Turkey has the right "to take all kinds of measures" against border violations
as a "national duty," but that it did not amount to an aggression against any f
oreign territory and the country called for NATO to hold an extraordinary meetin
g later in the day.[62] He further called for working towards "extinguishing the
fire that is burning in Syria."[59] Davutoglu also said: "No one can legitimize
attacks on Turkmens in Syria using the pretext of fighting the Islamic State."[
13] Writing on Twitter, Turkey's Ambassador to the United States, Serdar Kilic,
indicated: "Understand this: Turkey is a country whose warnings should be taken
seriously and listened to. Don't test Turkey's patience. Try to win its friendsh
ip."[63] According to the BBC, Turkey's permanent representative Halit Cevik in
a letter to the UN Security Council claimed that the two aircraft had approached
Turkish airspace and disregarded ten warnings that were issued over the space o
f five minutes via an "emergency" channel to change direction, instead entering
Turkish airspace by 2.19 km (1.36 miles) and 1.85 km (1.15 miles).[60]
The MICEX and RTS Index and Borsa Istanbul fell over 1%, while the Turkish lira
also dropped following news of the shootdown.[64] Dozens of protesters were repo
rted outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul demonstrating against Russian mil
itary operations in the Turkmen-populated areas of Syria.[59]
Others
President of the European Council Donald Tusk called upon Turkey and Russia to s
tay "cool headed and calm"; he was supported by the High Representative of the E
uropean Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, following her meeting with
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, who urged both parties to avoid esc
alation.[65][66] Stoltenberg backed Turkey's assessment of the engagement and sa

id: "We stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of
our NATO ally, Turkey", and called for both sides to de-escalate the situation.
President of the United States Barack Obama assured his Turkish counterpart, Re
cep Tayyip Erdogan, in a phone call, of support for his country's right to defen
d its sovereignty and that it was important to find out exactly what had happene
d and to take measures to "discourage any kind of escalation".[56] French Presid
ent Franois Hollande called the plane incident "a serious one" and said that Turk
ey is providing information to NATO "so that we can find what really happened."
He also called for the prevention of any escalation of the situation.[63] Czech
President Milo Zeman said that Turkey's action was "a too radical move which only
increases the tension in the region," while Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and
Foreign Minister Lubomr Zaorlek called for better co-ordination among those fight
ing in the region.[59] German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel called Turkish acti
ons unpredictable: This incident shows for the first time that we are dealing wit
h an actor who is unpredictable according to statements from various parts of th
e region that is not Russia, that is Turkey."[67] Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier called for "prudence and common sense" in response to the incident an
d that Syria peace talks in Vienna should not be derailed.[68] British Foreign S
ecretary Philip Hammond said the incident was potentially serious but also said
that Turkey was an important ally of the United Kingdom and European Union.[69]
When asked by British opposition Labour MP Dennis Skinner whether Turkey could s
till be considered an ally, Hammond said that Turkey is an important NATO ally a
s it "holds the key to a number of important questions both in relation to the b
attle against ISIL but also in relation to the migration challenge that Europe f
aces, and it will remain a very important partner for this country and for the E
uropean Union."[69]
Broader European stock markets also fell as a result of the shooting.[70]
Aftermath
The Russian Defence Ministry broke off military contact with the Turkish Armed F
orces. The Russian military also said that future airstrikes in Syria would see
fighters escorting Russian bombers.[56] According to the Russian Minister of Def
ense Sergey Shoygu, Russia will deploy S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to K
hmeimim Air Base in Syria, where the Russian Aerospace Forces group is stationed
.[71][72]
On 25 November, Russia started bombarding rebels
including Turkmen insurgents
in
Latakia, ignoring demands made by Turkey over the past week to end its military
operations close to the Turkish border.[73] This bombardment was done via missi
les fired from Russian warships, artillery and aircraft.[74] An aid convoy repor
ted to have been carrying construction material was bombed by airstrikes in the
northwestern town of Azaz, near the Turkish border, controlled by the armed Syri
an opposition. At least seven truck drivers died and ten people were injured.[75
]
The foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey spoke by phone for an hour on 25 Nove
mber, and both governments stated that day that they would not initiate a war as
a result of the shootdown incident. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told
journalists that day that his country would "seriously reevaluate" its relation
ship with Turkey, however.[13][76][77]