Rescued Russian pilot insists Turkey ‘gave no warning’ before downing jet

The rescued navigator of a Russian jet shot down by Turkey has insisted he received no warning before his plane was downed. Capt Konstantin Murakhtin - who was plucked from rebel territory in Syria after a 12-hour elite forces operation - has said he could not have flown over Turkish airspace. "No, this is out of the question even for a one-second possibility, as we were at the altitude of 6,000m and the weather was clear,“ said the airman, pictured above speaking to the media. "There were no warnings either via radio communication or optically. There were no contacts at all. That’s why we flew heading combat course as per normal.”

If they wanted to warn us they could have come out by flying on parallel courses. But this did not happen. And the missile came to our jet’s tail all of a sudden … We didn’t even see it to have time for missile evasive manoeuvre.

Capt Konstantin Murakhtin

The navigator’s claims will inflame a row between Turkey and Russia over the shooting down of the SU-24 jet on Tuesday. His colleague - pilot Col Oleg Peshkov - was wounded as he parachuted down and killed on the ground by “jihadists in the area”. Both men, along with a marine, Alexander Pozynich, killed when a helicopter sent to rescue them was shot at and forced to make an emergency landing, will all receive military honours. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov pledged that Moscow would “seriously reconsider” its relations with Ankara but insisted: "We do not intend to wage a war on Turkey.“ Meanwhile, hundreds of young activists on Wednesday hurled stones and eggs at Turkey’s embassy in Moscow and brandished anti-Turkish placards.

Our attitude to the Turkish people has not changed. We have questions over the action of Turkey’s current leadership.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov

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