'517 Billion Won Each' Russian Attack Aircraft Crashes into Apartment During Training

Four Civilians Presumed Dead and Six Missing... Pilot Ejected
New Fighter Jet Worth 51.7 Billion Won

The site of a fighter jet crash in an apartment in the city center of Yeisk, a city in southern Russia. (Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] A Russian fighter jet training near the Ukrainian border area crashed into a Russian apartment building shortly after takeoff, killing at least four people and leaving six missing.

According to major foreign media on the 17th (local time), the Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a press release that "a Sukhoi (SU)-34 fighter jet caught fire in the engine during training and fell in the city of Yeisk," adding, "The fighter jet collided with the courtyard of an apartment complex, igniting the fuel."

The fighter jet crashed into the 9th floor of an apartment building around 6:20 p.m. that day, and scenes of massive flames rising right in front of the apartment and the fire engulfing nearly an entire line of apartments were confirmed through social media.

Before the crash, the two pilots ejected, while four civilians are presumed dead and six are missing. Russian TASS news agency reported that 25 people were injured and hospitalized, and that 2,000㎡ across five floors from the 1st floor of the apartment, affecting more than 17 households, were burned.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly received a report immediately after the accident and instructed the local governor and relevant ministers to visit the site, according to the Kremlin.

The pilots who ejected from the crashed fighter jet reportedly stated that the engine caught fire during takeoff. The Russian Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into possible criminal charges, stating that "military investigators are identifying the circumstances and causes of the incident."

The area is a port city with a population of about 90,000, located on the Sea of Azov, facing Mariupol in Donetsk Province, eastern Ukraine, and is home to an air force base under the jurisdiction of the Russian Southern Military District.

The SU-34 involved in the accident is the latest Russian Air Force strike fighter, with a unit price of $36 million (approximately 51.7 billion KRW). As of March, Russia was known to possess about 120 SU-34s, but it is reported to have lost at least 15 since the invasion of Ukraine.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.