A Russian BuK-M3 medium range surface to air missile system shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker fighter aircraft at 18:12 local time on August 21, as the fighter was attempting to drop guided glide bombs on Russian forces in the Kursk region. The missile system was operating under the 6th Air Defence Force’s 5th Brigade. The shootdown occurred 15 days into a major Ukrainian incursion into the Russian Kursk region at a strength estimated at 15,000 personnel, which has seen the country’s most elite forces committed to an incursion deep into Russian territory, but has resulted in very heavy losses for the attackers.
