On Tuesday, Turkey said that after repeated warnings over 5 minutes, Turkish F-16s shot down a fighter jet flying over its territory near the Syrian border. Russia's Defense Ministry said the jet was Russian, that it hasn't had any contact with the pilots since they parachuted out of the Su-24, and that it is "looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet." Russia said its jet was brought down by artillery fire and added, "The Ministry of Defense would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight."
Turkey, a member of NATO, warned Russian warplanes about flying over its territory in October and shot down a Russian-made drone two weeks later, but this is a worrisome escalation in what's already a geopolitical tinder pile. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the pilots parachuted into the Turkmen Mountains of Syria's northern Latakia province. Turkey generally supports the Syrian Turkmen in the region, which has recently been under attack from the Russian-backed forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia backs Assad, while Turkey wants him out of power. Both sides are purportedly fighting the Islamic State.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
4 ways to give back this holiday seasonThe Explainer If your budget is feeling squeezed, remember that money is not the only way you can be generous around the holidays
-
4 tips for hosting an ecofriendly ThanksgivingThe Week Recommends Coming together for the holidays typically produces a ton of waste, but with proper preparation, you can have an environmentally friendly gathering.
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red SeaSpeed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
-
Houthi rebels claim Red Sea ship attacksspeed read Iran-backed Yemeni group vows to escalate aggression towards Israel-linked vessels in revenge for Gaza war
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages releasedSpeed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
-
Mob storms Russian airport 'looking for Jews'Speed Read Plane from Israel surrounded by rioters chanting antisemitic slogans after landing in Russia's Dagestan region
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs saySpeed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign portSpeed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'Speed Read
