Ukrainian hackers claim to have shot down a $50m SU-57 fighter using Russia's own air defense

• Ukraine says Russian defenses mistakenly destroyed one of Moscow's premier fighter jets
• InformNapalm claims cyber intelligence turned Russian air defenses against their own aircraft
• Russia insists a technical failure caused the reported Su-57 crash near Moscow

A Russian Su-57 fighter jet recently crashed in the Moscow region, and Ukrainian intelligence sources say it was no accident.

The international intelligence community InformNapalm claims a combined human and cyber intelligence operation manipulated a Russian air defense unit into striking its own aircraft.

The jet, valued at roughly $50 million, represents one of Russia's most advanced fighter platforms currently in active service.

How the operation reportedly unfolded

InformNapalm says the effort began earlier, when analysts processed a large volume of intercepted Russian communications and footage from a training ground.

That footage showed the BARS Moscow air defense system being trained specifically to counter Ukrainian long-range drones over the capital region.

Analysts used the material to build a detailed report covering personnel training, hardware, software, and combat algorithms tied to the system.

The report also identified specific vulnerabilities within the BARS Moscow network that outside actors could exploit.

This information was reportedly submitted to the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which allegedly used the findings during the operation.

“We thank our friends — cyber specialists of the future Cyber ​​Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” InformNapalm emphasized, saying the intelligence gathered went beyond passive observation, and was instead used to influence how the specific air defense unit actually operated.

The group says this approach allowed the very system built by Russian engineers to be turned against a Russian aircraft.

The result, according to InformNapalm, was the destruction of the Su-57 by its own side's defenses, a claim that Russia vehemently denies.

Russia insists a technical failure caused the crash

The Russian Ministry of Defense attributed the crash to a technical malfunction, which is common rather than any external interference or sabotage.

InformNapalm disputes that account, noting reports of sabotage within the BARS Moscow system had already circulated in pro-Russian online spaces beforehand.

The group also points to a prior operation from 2025, called OKBMLeaks, in which it published documents from a Russian manufacturer supplying components for the aircraft.

That earlier material was translated into 13 languages and picked up by numerous international outlets covering the war.

However, there is no independent verification of InformNapalm's claim, leaving Ukraine's account directly contested by Russia.

Coincidentally, Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya lowered the maximum flight altitudes near Moscow airports and banned transit flights over the region.

Officials cited security concerns tied to a rise in Ukrainian drone activity as the reason behind these restrictions.

Whether the security concern includes the recent case cited by InformNapalm remains to be seen.

Airlines remain worried that the changes could add 20 to 30 minutes to routes that once passed directly through Moscow's airspace corridor.

Kommersant, a major Russian business newspaper, also reported that the lower altitude ceiling raises the risk of bird strikes.

Whether the crash resulted from sabotage or a genuine technical fault, the competing accounts remain unresolved for now.

Via Army Inform (originally in Ukrainian)