Russian stealth drone crashes in Ukraine: Here's the mystery behind the falling S-70 Okhotnik drone
S-70 Okhotnik stealth drone was shot down over Kostiantynivka, a city in Ukraine's Donetsk region. While initial reports from Telegram channels suggested Ukrainian forces may have been responsible, further investigation confirmed that the drone was destroyed by Russian forces in a friendly fire incident.
The drone, part of Russia’s next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program, was reportedly downed during a test flight. According to sources from Ukraine's Defense Forces, Russian commanders ordered the destruction of the drone to prevent it from falling into Ukrainian hands after losing control. This decision marked a significant blow to Russia's military operations, as the Okhotnik was a key part of the Russian Aerospace Forces' ongoing drone warfare efforts.
Friendly Fire or Technical Failure?
The exact circumstances that led to the downing of the Okhotnik remain unclear. Video footage from the incident, shared on both pro-Kyiv and pro-Moscow social media channels, shows a Su-57 fighter jet shooting down the drone using what appears to be an R-74M2 air-to-air missile. In the video, contrails from both the Su-57 and the Okhotnik can be seen flying close together before the missile is fired, bringing down the drone.
Military bloggers speculated that the drone may have suffered a malfunction, prompting concerns that it could crash within Ukrainian-controlled territory, leading Russian commanders to order its destruction. «I really want to hope that it was a loss of control due to something failing … or the
