War in Ukraine: mistaken for a Ukrainian drone, an influencer’s plane shot down in mid-flight by Russian anti-aircraft defense

A serious mistake by the Kremlin. Russian influencer Pavel Koshkin, known in the country in the field of aviation, was killed on Saturday March 21 after his plane was shot down by Russian air defense in the Moscow region.

While the blogger was flying over the Moscow region aboard a small tourist aircraft with his passenger Vadim, his plane was mistaken for a Ukrainian drone and shot down by mistake by the Russian army, reports The Sun. One resident reported a loud explosion and a “clump of blue smoke” in the sky following the attack.

The bodies of the two victims and the wreckage of the plane were found in Kolomna, just 3 km from a heavily guarded missile factory, which could explain why the plane was targeted with warheads. Indeed, it specializes in the manufacture of highly sensitive missiles, including the famous Iskander, deployed en masse on the Ukrainian front.

According to initial information, the damage suffered by the plane indicates that it was hit by the warheads of a Tor surface-to-air missile defense system, designed to intercept fast and small targets.

“Stupidity and incompetence”

Igor Volkov, another Russian blogger specializing in aviation, was indignant at this loss which, according to him, necessarily comes from human error. “Dejected… Pavel always flew correctly, with all the required formalities,” commented the blogger who lives in France. He regrets “the stupidity and incompetence of the army” which would have “simply pressed a button” without thinking.

Igor Volkov added that the influencer had “working cameras on board”, but that he is “sure that no one will ever see these recordings”.

If the authorities indicated that a plane registered RA-3401G had crashed, killing two people, no official comment was made on the cause of the incident or on possible responsibilities of Russian air defenses.