Onboard Video Captures Destruction of Ukrainian Su-25
Rare onboard footage shows the final seconds of a Ukrainian Su-25 after a missile hit, capturing the aircraft’s loss of control and crash during a combat sortie.
Rare footage has surfaced online showing the destruction of a Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft, recorded by an onboard camera just seconds before the crash. The video captures the final moments from the cockpit perspective of Ukrainian pilot Vladislav Rykov, call sign «Magic,» who was considered one of the experienced pilots of the Ukrainian Air Force.
The recording shows a pair of Ukrainian attack aircraft carrying out a combat mission at low altitude. At the third second of the video, a flash appears near the right wing, indicating a hit by a Russian missile. After the strike, the Su-25 loses control, rolls around its axis, and begins a rapid, tumbling descent. Fragments of the engine and fuselage can be seen breaking off in midair. The final image recorded by the camera is winter-scorched grass as the aircraft impacts the ground.
Vladislav Rykov was killed on February 7, 2024. He served with the 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force. He was 30 years old at the time of his death. Posthumously, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and awarded the title Hero of Ukraine. According to official data, Rykov completed 385 combat sorties and was a full holder of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. The Telegram channel Voevoda Veshchaet reported that his aircraft was shot down by a Russian Aerospace Forces Su-35 fighter.