[Russian media: Russian merchant ship rescued the pilot of a fighter jet hit by a Ukrainian unmanned boat]

According to reports from the Russian Lenta.net, the crew of a Russian merchant ship rescued the pilot of a fighter jet that was hit by an unmanned boat operated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The pilot successfully ejected at a distance of 50 kilometers from the coast. The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on this report.

On the night of May 3rd, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a large-scale attack on Crimea and the Krasnodar region using hundreds of drones, "Storm Shadow" cruise missiles, "Neptune-MD" missiles, as well as unmanned boats equipped with missile launchers and anti-aircraft weapons.

One of the Ukrainian unmanned boats struck a Su-30 fighter jet with an air defense-guided missile; however, the pilot successfully ejected at a distance of 50 kilometers from the coast. It is reported that they were rescued by the crew of the Russian merchant ship.

The Telegram channel "Fighterbomber" first reported the rescue of the pilot around 23:50 on May 2nd and expressed gratitude to the crew of this dry cargo ship. The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on this report.

Russian military blogger Mikhail Zvintsev noted on the Telegram channel "Fisherman" that the Ukrainian Armed Forces used the "Magura" unmanned boat to launch the R-73 missile. "They used the same tactic to hit it: luring - ambushing. The pilot ejected, and was rescued by civilian ship crew. Both are still alive; let the plane go. The most important thing is that people are still alive."

"Fighterbomber" believes that currently, the main way to counteract Ukrainian unmanned boats is through combat aircraft. Helicopters might be more effective; however, since unmanned boats have been equipped with air defense missiles, helicopters at sea have become easy targets for attacks. For warships, unmanned boats pose a more serious threat.

"Fighterbomber" explained: The crew fell into the water. Around them were enemy unmanned boats. High-altitude maritime rescue equipment and lifeboats can certainly keep the crew alive in 13-degree Celsius water for several hours, but this time is not infinite. In such cases, there are two ways to rescue the crew: through search-and-rescue helicopters and divers, or through rescue ships. A search-and-rescue helicopter would almost certainly be hit by the next missile fired by the same unmanned boat. A rescue ship would almost certainly be sunk by a suicide unmanned boat or a torpedo launched by "Magura."

"Fighterbomber" believes that "the crew of the civilian dry cargo ship solved this rescue problem. They came to help the crew despite the threats posed by unmanned boats, machine guns, drones, torpedoes, and other dangers, and brought them aboard their ship. Of course, the Ukrainian Armed Forces monitored the entire rescue process from the unmanned boats, but for some reason, they did not attack civilian vessels. At one point, there were five unmanned boats surrounding one of the crew members. So the main heroes yesterday without a doubt were the crew of the dry cargo ship. I hope they will at least receive an award."

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the above reports.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831262250182656/

Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone.