Footage is circulating on social media showing arsonists from the Russian Freedom Legion breaking into an airbase and setting fire to a Russian Su-24.
A video has been posted on social media showing a group of arsonists deliberately setting fire to Russian Su-24 supersonic bombers. The video, shared on Twitter, shows several people sneaking into the poorly guarded airbase and lighting fires next to the parked bombers.
According to various reports, the incident took place at the Novosibirsk Aviation Production Association plant in Siberia, 2,897 km from Ukraine. The date of the shooting also indicates that the incident occurred on the eve of the Victory Day celebrations in Russia. This plant also produces the successor to the Su-24, the Su-34 Fulback bomber.
The video was allegedly posted by the ‘Legion of Freedom of Russia’, which appears to be a unit of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces, made up of Russian volunteers and defectors who oppose the Putin regime. In the video, the group refers to the saboteurs as “unknown partisans”.
The Russian Freedom Legion is reportedly involved in other arson attacks and sabotage in Russia. The Legion is also believed to have sent troops to support the Ukrainian military in the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine. Nevertheless, several people have been arrested and imprisoned by Russian authorities on charges of attempting to join the Legion.
Also, according to the report, the Su-24 Fencer bomber was apparently undergoing modernisation and refurbishment for potential combat use. The video also briefly shows two other bombers, presumably Su-34s, parked next to the Su-24. A social media post claims that the Su-24 was “successfully burned”. However, this is not evident from the footage posted.
According to the Telegram channel Baza news, a local police officer responded to a video showing saboteurs near a Su-24 aircraft. The officer discovered a “mothballed” aircraft and found traces of flammable liquid burning on the landing gear. According to the officer, the saboteurs probably broke through the chain-link fence and were caught on CCTV. It is suspected that this particular Su-24 could have been one of several export models that had been at the factory for over a decade, waiting for a buyer.
The recent burning of the Su-24 is part of a series of incidents involving aviation sabotage in Russia. For example, on 1 November 2022, three modern attack helicopters, including two Ka-52 Hokum and a Mi-28 Havok, were destroyed at the Veretenets airbase in the Pskov region, 644 km from Ukraine.
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