Media: Russian forces shoot down their own jet amid Ukrainian drone assault

Russian forces accidentally shot down one of their own military aircraft overnight while attempting to intercept Ukrainian drones over Crimea, Ukrainian officials said.

Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said that the plane was struck by Russian air defence missiles as it attempted to defend against incoming Ukrainian drones, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

“They were repelling Ukrainian attacks and ended up shooting down their own plane today,” Pletenchuk noted. “The fight continues, and all information [about the incident] is being collected in Crimea.”

Ukrainian officials say the drone assault also inflicted significant damage on Russian infrastructure. In the village of Hvardiiske, a major oil depot tied to the ATAN gas station network caught fire, causing thick plumes of black smoke, according to eyewitness reports cited by the Crimean Wind [Krymsky Veter] Telegram channel.

Several electrical substations on the peninsula reportedly sustained damage as well. Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-backed head of Crimea, acknowledged the outages and said repair crews were working to restore service, while warning that temporary power cuts were likely. Authorities imposed rolling shutdowns in parts of Krasnoperekopsk, Dzhankoi, and Saky districts to prevent overloads during repairs.

The incident comes on the heels of a broader Ukrainian drone campaign targeting strategic sites in Russian-occupied Crimea. On October 13, drones reportedly struck the Feodosia Marine Oil Terminal and multiple electricity substations, according to sources within Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). The same oil depot had been hit during a prior drone offensive on October 6. That earlier mission involved an estimated 250–300 drones targeting 14 Russian regions and occupied Crimea.

By Vafa Guliyeva