On the evening of 17 October 2022, a

Su-34 The Sukhoi Su-34 (russian: Сухой Су-34; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Sovie ...

military aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equipm ...

crashed into an apartment building in

Yeysk Yeysk (russian: Ейск) is a port and a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the shore of the Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. The town is built primarily on the Yeysk Spit, which separates the Yeya River from the Sea of Azov. P ...

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. A large fireball was visible upon impact, causing a fire in the nine-story building, killing 15 people.

Background

The disaster occurred against the backdrop of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. Su-34 aircraft were used by Russia in the war with Ukraine. At the same time, journalists noted that the city of Yeysk is located close to Ukraine: from

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

, and to

Bakhmut Bakhmut ( uk, Ба́хмут, ) is a city in the Donbas and the administrative centre of Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is located on the Bakhmutka River, about 89 km north of Donetsk city, the administrative center of the o ...

. However, there was no information in open sources about the use of bombers from the air base in Yeysk. At the same time, the is located in Yeysk. However, journalists noted that the Su-34 is not in service with the Russian Navy and that it was not previously reported in open sources that it was used to train pilots of naval aviation. But journalists noted that the training complex in Yeysk was also used to train other military pilots.

Accident

The

Russian Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

reported that the Su-34

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

crashed while climbing to perform a training flight. The pilots ejected. They reported that the cause of the crash was the ignition of one of the engines during takeoff. The ministry said fuel caught fire at the crash site. Information about the crash of the Su-34 aircraft into a multi-storey residential building was received by the Ministry of Emergency Situations at 18:25; the incident occurred on the intersection of Krasnaya (Red) Street and Kommunisticheskaya (Communist) Street.

Fire

The fire damaged at least 17 apartments in the building, according to the

Governor of Krasnodar Krai Head of Administration (Governor) of Krasnodar Krai is the highest post of executive power in Krasnodar Krai, a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. List of Heads of Administration Elections Last elections The latest election ...

Veniamin Kondratyev Veniamin Ivanovich Kondratyev (russian: link=no, Вениамин Иванович Кондратьев; born 1 September 1970) is the governor of Krasnodar Krai in the southern European part of Russia. Biography In 1993 he graduated from the Kub ...

. At the same time, the city's duty dispatch service said that the fire damaged at least 45 apartments. According to the service, the fire completely engulfed one of the entrances, where there was a collapse of the floors from the ninth to the fifth. At the same time, the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that apartments from the first to the fifth floors caught fire after the crash. At about 20:40 local time, the fire was contained and the remnants of the aircraft were extinguished.

Victims

In the first few hours, there was no accurate information on the victims, since the operational services of the city could not conduct reconnaissance of the burning building due to a strong fire and the continuing danger of explosions. 15 dead and 26 injured are known. Families are assisted by 40

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

s from Krasnodar and Yeysk.

Analysis

According to Ukrainian aviation expert Valery Romanenko, "if the flight had been combat, half of the house would not have been there." He acknowledged the presence of small explosions that were heard after the plane crashed, but suggested that these were either cartridges for a 30-mm cannon or training projectiles. However, he noted the absence of major explosions, despite the fact that the aircraft is capable of taking up to eight tons of bombs. According to , this disaster is at least the tenth non-combat loss of Russian aviation since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Investigation

According to the

Telegram channel Telegram Messenger is a globally accessible freemium, cross-platform, encrypted, cloud-based and centralized instant messaging (IM) service. The application also provides optional end-to-end encrypted chats, popularly known as secret chat and ...

of the

Investigative Committee of Russia The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Следственный комитет Российской Федерации) has since January 2011 been the main federal investigating authority in Russia. Its name (' ...

, a

criminal case Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

has been opened on the fact of the crash of the Su-34 aircraft in Yeysk. The department noted that criminologists of the central office of the department were sent to the scene of the incident, the circumstances and causes of the incident are being established.

References

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Russia Aviation accidents in Russia in 2022 Aviation accidents and incidents in 2022 October 2022 events in Russia Aviation accidents and incidents in Russia Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft Residential building fires History of Krasnodar Krai