It is entirely possible his Syrian buddy deliberately killed Russian servicemen in cold blood.
My guess is that it was a true accident. Israel may have been using the Russian plane to mask their own aircraft but that doesn’t mean they intended for it to be shot down.
The Israelis have been using glide bombs rather than overflying Syrian territory. In many cases, those bombs were launched at high altitude over Lebanon. They then wing their way to targets over 100 miles away. They are small and very precise. They are probably impossible to shoot down.
This attack had to be conducted from the sea as the target was on the coast. The Russian plane was heading inland from the sea on patrol. The Syrians probably saw the Israelis coming and launched at the Russian plane as it was likely the largest target on radar. The fact it was a propeller plane didn’t register on the operators. They have probably been punished for their past failures and would have shot anything they could see. (The Israelis were most likely never in range, or if they were, not for long.)
It’s doubtful the Israelis used the Russian plane as cover. The situation with Russia is dicey at best and there would be no need to make it worse.
Yeah charley, Presidents can do that you know.
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