{"id":27118,"date":"2018-02-08T17:50:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T17:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/08\/tens-of-thousands-mourn-russian-pilot-killed-in-syria\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:24:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:24:59","slug":"tens-of-thousands-mourn-russian-pilot-killed-in-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/08\/tens-of-thousands-mourn-russian-pilot-killed-in-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Tens of thousands mourn Russian pilot killed in Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MOSCOW \u2014 Tens of thousands of Russians attended a mourning ceremony Thursday for a Russian pilot who blew himself up to avoid being captured by the militants in Syria who downed his plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maj. Roman Filipov bailed out successfully Saturday from the burning plane over Syria\u2019s northern Idlib province, but was surrounded by al-Qaida-linked militants when he landed. The Russian Defense Ministry said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/03\/syrian-militants-down-russian-fighter-jet-kill-pilot\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">he engaged in a gun battle with the militants <\/a>and then blew himself up with a hand grenade when they came close.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/02\/06\/these-marines-in-syria-fired-more-artillery-than-any-battalion-since-vietnam\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled.png_7c33c0.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">These Marines in Syria fired more artillery than any battalion since Vietnam<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">In five months they fired 35,000 artillery rounds on ISIS targets.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Vladimir Putin has posthumously awarded Filipov with the nation\u2019s highest medal, the Hero of Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Filipov\u2019s body has been repatriated to Russia. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the top military brass paid tributes to him at an air base outside Moscow before his body was flown to the southwestern city of Voronezh for the funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18039485166329.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18039485166329.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18039485166329.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18039485166329.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18039485166329.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Russian honorary guards stand next to a coffin with the body of Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, during a funeral service in Voronezh, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over 30,000 people attended the funeral ceremony for the married pilot with a four-year old daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Filipov\u2019s Su-25 ground attack jet was struck by a portable air defense missile, the first time a Russian warplane has been shot down by insurgents since Moscow launched an air campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad\u2019s forces in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Russian military is investigating where the missile had come from and has warned that such missiles could threaten civilian aircraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tens of thousands of Russians attended a mourning ceremony Thursday for a Russian pilot who blew himself up to avoid being captured by the militants in Syria who downed his plane.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":53529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,16,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1344],"class_list":["post-27118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"N5M77LELTJDWRADQVDAV555IDI","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/08\/tens-of-thousands-mourn-russian-pilot-killed-in-syria\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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