Putin fumes: Downed Russian jet a 'stab in the back'

By Charles Hoskinson, Charles Hoskinson

Published December 20, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the shoot-down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey on Tuesday was "a stab in the back."

"This event goes beyond the fight against terrorism. Of course, our servicemen are engaged in a heroic struggle against terrorism, not sparing themselves or their own lives. But today's loss is related to a stab in the back, carried out against us by accomplices of terrorists. I cannot otherwise describe what happened today," Putin said in Sochi, Russia, as he met with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Turkey said the Russian Su-24 was given 10 warnings in five minutes after it strayed into Turkish airspace along the Syrian border before being shot down by two F-16 fighter jets, the official Anatolia news agency said.

Russia's Defense Ministry, citing preliminary data, said the two pilots were able to eject from the aircraft. Turkmen rebels in Syria told reporters that their forces shot both pilots dead as they descended in parachutes.