A Russian aeroplane of unknown type has crashed into the sea near Sevastopol on the Russian-occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, Crimea's Russian-appointed Governor Mikhail Rasvoshaev said on Telegram on Thursday.
The pilot saved himself by parachute and landed in the water around 200 metres from the coast and was picked up unharmed by a lifeboat shortly afterwards, Rasvoshaev said. He did not give details regarding the cause of the crash.
Ukrainian media speculated that the plane could have been shot down by Russian air defence by mistake. The UNIAN news agency published a picture of a crashing, burning aircraft. The authenticity of the image could not be independently verified.
