Twelve Russian soldiers involved in shooting down a US made F16 Fighter Jet have been awarded a whooping cash prize worth U$195,000.
According to the Russian State News Agency Tass, the award ceremony took place in a border area in the presence of commanders on May 29.
Twelve servicemen involved in downing the target received money certificates,” the Fores company said.
“Fores has delivered on its earlier promise to transfer 15 million rubles to members of the Russian Armed Forces for downing the first F-16 in the special military operation zone,” the company said.
Fores Director General Sergey Shmotyev earlier said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that his company would will pay a bonus of 15 million rubles for the first F-16 fighter jet that could be shot down in Ukraine.
Meanwhile,a former Russian officer who commanded air operations during the siege of Mariupol and later became deputy mayor of Stavropol was killed in an apparent bomb attack overnight, officials said Thursday.
Stavropol Mayor Ivan Ulyanchenko confirmed the death of his first deputy, Major Zaur Gurtsiyev, 34, a veteran of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Stavropol region Governor Vladimir Vladimirov had said earlier that Gurtsiyev died in a “nighttime incident,” adding: “All leads are being followed, including the possibility of a terrorist attack organized by Ukrainian elements.
Surveillance footage shared by Telegram channels linked to Russian law enforcement agencies showed an explosion after one man approached another near a parking lot.