Rescued Russian Pilot Vows ‘Pay Back’ For Fallen Commander, As Putin Deploys S-400 Missiles
November 25 2015

The Russian jet pilot who survived being shot down by Turkish F-16 forces on Tuesday has vowed to continue flying missions for his country as “payback” for his fallen commander.
Captain Konstantin Murakhtin, was forced to evacuate his jet, along with Colonel Peshkov, 52, and claimed Turkey provided no warnings that the jets were violating Turkish airspace. Speaking at a press conference, Murakhtin stated;
“There was no warning, by radio exchange nor visually. There was no contact at all. The Turks did not get in touch with us.
“We were flying at about 6,000-metre altitude. The weather was sunny, what we call ‘million-by-million’. All the flight before the moment when the missile exploded was completely under my control.
I could clearly see with the map and visually where the borders were and where we were. There even wasn’t a threat of entering Turkey.”
Whilst falling to the ground, the pair were shot at by rebel forces, and despite the fact Capatin Murakhtin was fortunate enough to survive the attack, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov was later found covered in blood and bruises, after being fatally shot.

This comes after Turkey have announced they did not know the jet was Russian, but stand by that they did in fact provide prior warnings before shooting the jet down.
Captain Murakhtin was able to survive after hiding in forest in northern Syria, and using a radio beacon to call for help, which eventually arrived in the form of a Russian special forces rescue team.
In response to the attack, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has now deployed his feared S-400 battalions to Latakia, Syria, despite the international community’s best attempt to start reducing tensions between the nations.
Justin Bronk, an expert from the Royal United Services Institute believes the firearm now poses a threat to British warplanes in the region, as they are unable to avoid detection;
“With its extremely long range and advanced radar and missile-tracking capabilities, it will be a formidable potential threat to all coalition aircraft over Syria, parts of Iraq and Turkey, and even as far as Cyprus.”
These concerns are echoed by other defence experts, with one source saying;
‘This is Putin upping the ante. He is making a clear signal that he has the capability and is upping the escalation and will want to see what Nato does in response.’
Meanwhile, back in Russia, both Murakhtin and the rescue team have been awarded state honours for their bravery. Colonel Peshkov has also been awarded with Russia’s highest award for Valour.
The 52-year old leaves behind a wife, a 16-year-old daughter and an 8-year old son. The mayor of their home city of Lipetsk, last night promised to pay off the family’s outstanding mortgage on a recently-purchased flat.
Alexandr Pozynich, a Russian soldier who was killed during the 12-hour rescue operation – possibly by the Free Syrian Army while carrying out a search-and-rescue in a helicopter – will also receive state posthumous state honours.