A Russian military aircraft crashed into the water near Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Crimea, said.
According to Razvozhayev, the pilot ejected at the right time and Sevastopol Rescue Service personnel, who were about 200 meters from the shore, retrieved him.
Earlier on March 28, Russian Telegram channels disseminated footage of the engulfed pilot’s parachute and the burning, descending aircraft over Sevastopol.
The Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported that Russian forces accidentally shot down the plane. The channel claimed that Russian forces shot down the aircraft over Sevastopol after it left the Belbek military airfield.
The accident’s cause remained unclear.