Who shot down the Russian Il-20 over the Mediterranean?
A retrospective on 18 September 2018, when reports confirmed the loss of a Russian reconnaissance plane and Moscow blamed Israel.
What had happened to the Russian Ilyushin Il-20 that vanished over the Mediterranean? By 18 September 2018, the answer had emerged: the aircraft, carrying 14 people, had been shot down. Russia accused Israel of not giving enough warning before launching its attacks, which, in Moscow's account, led Syria to fire on the plane.
What was known on 17 September
The plane, a Russian Air Force reconnaissance aircraft with 14 servicemen aboard, disappeared from radar on 17 September 2018 during a missile attack on Syria's Latakia Governorate. A U.S. official claimed that the Syrian Army had inadvertently shot it down while trying to intercept missiles. Russia, for its part, said it had detected a missile launch from a French FREMM multipurpose frigate.
A day of two announcements
The loss came on the same day that Russia and Turkey announced a demilitarized zone in Syria's Idlib Governorate and ruled out any military operations there. Later accounts described the strikes as occurring a few hours after that agreement, which postponed an imminent offensive by Syria's forces and its allies.
Those later accounts also put the number killed at 15 rather than the 14 first reported. They said Russia accused the Israeli air force of hiding behind the Russian aircraft, which put it in the line of fire. The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged striking a Syrian weapons facility and expressed sorrow for the loss of life caused by Syrian fire.
On 18 September 2018 itself, the picture was narrower: a missing aircraft confirmed lost, a Russian accusation aimed at Israel, and a separate diplomatic announcement over Idlib that had been made only a day earlier.
