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By Brendan Cole
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Two Russian fighter jets have collided in midair, killing one pilot while another ejected to safety, according to reports on Telegram.
“In the Kursk region two Sukhoi Su-35S fighter jets crashed, the circumstances are being determined,” posted the Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber, which gives updates about aviation in the Ukraine War.
A follow up post on the channel showed a picture of the smoky remains of an aircraft on the ground at an undisclosed location in images that were widely shared on social media.
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Another Russian Telegram channel, Voevoda Veshaet, a pro-Russian military blogger posted that one pilot had been killed and another has survived the crash. Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
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Bloggers often provide unvarnished updates on Telegram about the Ukraine War that detail losses and battlefield setbacks suffered by Moscow's forces that are not made public by the Russian defense ministry.
Open-source intelligence X channel Visioner posted that the loss of two Su-35S aircraft in a single incident was another costly blow to Russia’s tactical aviation fleet, especially as Moscow needs advanced fighters for operations around Ukraine.
“Even when such losses occur without Ukrainian direct involvement, they still reduce available aircraft, consume replacement capacity and add further strain to an air force that has already suffered significant wartime attrition,” the post added.
What Is the Su-35S?
With a price tag of between $75 million and $80 million, the Su-35 was initially designed to counter U.S. F-15 Strike Eagle and F-14 Tomcat fighters in the early 1980s.
They have a NATO reporting name of Flanker-E and can fly at over 1,700 miles per hour. The aircraft is highly maneuverable and have outstanding radar and weapons systems, according to military website 19fortyfive.com.
However, the outlet said that despite its claimed capabilities of being a 4th-generation ++ aircraft, “the Su-35 and Russian aviation have suffered in the skies of Ukraine.”
It added that the Su-35 "has not met expectations” in the war and that intense anti-aircraft fire has restricted it to dropping glide bombs far out of range of SAM (surface-to-air missile) batteries over Ukraine.
"Ukrainian air defenses, now equipped with additional Western systems, have become more adept at intercepting glide bombs. Thus, the Flanker-E has no proper mission," the publication added.
How Many Su-35s Does Russia Have?
Russia’s Su-35S fleet consists of 110 to 130 operational aircraft, according to 19fortyfive.com, which reported in February 2026 that the aircraft have become a symbol of Russia’s inability to gain air superiority in the Ukraine War.
Russia has lost at least nine Su-35S aircraft since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to tracking website Oryx, which uses open-source images to document equipment losses. This is believed to be an underestimate and Ukraine's tally is much higher. The latest reported loss does not appear on Oryx’s list.
As of Tuesday, Russia has lost at least 380 aircraft during the war it started in 2022. Of these, 309 were destroyed, 66 damaged and five captured.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Tony Phillips.
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