Russia’s defence ministry, in a statement reported by Russian news agencies, said the Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft was brought down by anti-aircraft batteries of Moscow’s ally, Syria, in a friendly fire incident.
But the ministry said it held Israel responsible because, at the time of the incident, Israeli fighter jets were mounting air attacks on targets in Syria and had only given Moscow one minute’s warning, not enough time for the Russian plane to get to safety.
The defence ministry said 15 people were killed when the Russian plane was brought down as it came in to land at the Hmeimim air base in western Syria.
"As a result of the irresponsible actions of the Israeli military, 15 Russian service personnel perished. This absolutely does not correspond to the spirit of Russian-Israeli partnership," Interfax news agency quoted Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying.
"We reserve the right to take commensurate measures in response," Konashenkov was quoted as saying.
Konashenkov described the Israeli military’s actions as hostile and an act of provocation, Interfax reported.
Earlier, the Russian defence ministry had said the turbo-prop plane vanished from radar screens over Syria at the same time as Israeli and French forces were launching strikes on targets in Syria.
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