A POPULAR Russian influencer has been killed by Vladimir Putin’s wayward air defences after his plane was mistaken for a Ukrainian drone, it is claimed.
Aviation blogger Pavel Koshkin and his passenger Vadim M. were gunned down while flying a small aircraft in the region in a major blunder from the Kremlin.
Popular Russian aviation influencer Pavel Koshkin was reportedly shot down by Russian air defencesCredit: East2West
The wreckage indicates that the light aircraft was shot down by surface-to-air missilesCredit: East2West
The blunder has left tyrant Vladimir Putin with egg on his faceCredit: AFP
Both were found dead in the wreckage in Kolomna, just two miles from a highly-sensitive Russian missile plant producing the deadly Iskanders used on Ukraine.
Debris from the Czech-made Alto NG aircraft indicates they were attacked by warheads from a Tor surface-to-air missile defence system, according to analysts.
A loud explosion and “clump of blue smoke” in the sky were reported by a resident.
Officials say that 27 kamikaze had been downed near Moscow overnight.
But another aviation blogger Igor Volkov wrote online: “Shot down… Pavel always flew properly — with all the required formalities, a transponder on, a filed flight plan.”
Volkov, who is based in , blasted the “stupidity and incompetence of the military”.
He claimed that soldiers were “exhausted” by drones and that they “simply pressed a button” without a second thought.
“And now two people are gone,” he mourned.
Volkov added that the late influencer had “working cameras on board” but that he is “certain no one will ever see those recordings”.
The plane had a “ballistic parachute system” onboard, an emergency rescue parachute designed to bring the whole plane down safely.
It deploys by firing a small rocket that drags the parachute out very quickly.
But at the crash site the parachute material was found in a tangled state, indicating a low altitude or a late activation of the system.
The plane came down near the Oka River.
Officials said a plane with a registration number RA-3401G had crashed, killing two, but did not specify the cause.
There has been no official comment on whether Russian air defences were to blame for the tragedy.
The crash site was just a few miles from a highly-sensitive missile plantCredit: East2West
Koshkin flew with several cameras and safety precautionsCredit: East2West
It comes after a popular pro-Putin blogger – calling for his resignation and the toppling of his regime.
In an unprecedented move, Ilya Remeslo, 42, delivered a scathing criticism of the despot – demanding that Putin be put on trial as a war criminal.
The influential Z-blogger’s post titled “Five reasons why I stopped supporting ” has sent shockwaves across the country.
In the hit piece, Remeslo predicted that the dictator would be overthrown in 2026.
He also accused the Russian president of forcing countless troops into his meatgrinder war in , plunging the economy into tatters and .
His manifesto said: “Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate president. Vladimir Putin must resign and be put on trial as a war criminal and thief.”
Usually an attack dog for the , Remeslo’s surprising U-turn to his nearly 100,000 followers has sparked mass confusion in and left the paranoid regime reeling.
It comes amid reports paranoid Putin is limiting public appearances in the wake of the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran.
The trembling dictator is said to be in hiding in the aftermath of Khamenei’s death as well as ‘s capture of Venezuelan dictator Maduro.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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