A Russian pilot managed to fly his Sukhoi Su-25 fighter to the base and safely landed it, despite being hit by a Ukrainian missile.
“While performing a combat mission in Ukraine, the Su-25 was hit by a missile fired from the ground by their military,” Russian state-owned Zvezda posted on Telegram.
The attacked Su-25 was flying with another jet.
Pilot of the damaged aircraft turned off the affected engine. “The pilot of the leading aircraft, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Litvinov, realized that the comrade's plane could not withstand a second missile hit and covered it with his own plane,” the report said.
During the landing approach, the pilot of the damaged Su-25 reported a failure of the control systems and performed a landing on the commands of a comrade covering him. Thanks to the skillful actions of Litvinov, it was possible to save the life of the pilot and the combat aircraft.
Both pilots are presented for state awards.