Russian propaganda spreads fake claim about alleged downing of Saab-340 by Su-57 over Ukraine

Russian media, Telegram channels, pro-war bloggers on the social media platform X, and Facebook bots have been spreading claims that a Russian Su-57 fighter jet allegedly shot down a Swedish Saab-340 airborne early warning and control aircraft with an R-37 missile over eastern Ukraine.

Several posts claim this would be the first reported case of a Western aircraft of this class being hit in the air. Some sources cite a Greek publication and a French outlet.

The claim is false. There is currently no official or independent confirmation of the alleged incident. The propaganda posts rely solely on unverified sources and content shared by pro-Russian social media accounts.

Among the first accounts to spread the disinformation was an anonymous X profile, GeoStrat Bharat, which presents itself as an Indian military blog specializing in Russian aviation. The fake claim reportedly appeared there first on May 10 at 13:19 Kyiv time.

The post provided no evidence of any aircraft being shot down, only an old image at least 12 years old. The photo shows an aircraft bearing Swedish Air Force markings.

The account also displays signs of being a non-authentic pro-Russian information source. Its avatar features Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The page's content mainly consists of posts praising Russian weaponry, reposts from Russian pro-war bloggers, the Russian Foreign Ministry, and propaganda outlets RT and Sputnik. The account also has paid verification on X, a feature often used by anonymous and propaganda-oriented pages.

There is also a YouTube channel with the same name, which has a small audience of more than 832 subscribers, with most videos focused on Russian weaponry and military topics.

Another early source was the X account of Turkish academic and former military officer Mesut Hakki Casin. His post about the alleged downing was published on May 10 at 16:04 Kyiv time and likewise contained no evidence.

Casin presents himself as an expert on Russia and has authored a book on the topic. In the past, he has advocated closer relations between Turkey and Russia. His page includes videos from the Russian Ministry of Defense and other Russia-related content. His X profile photo shows him against the backdrop of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow.

In one of his posts, Casin refers to the Greek outlet Pro News, which frequently publishes materials aligned with Russian narratives, including coverage of the war against Ukraine and portrayals of Russian figures in a positive light.

The article's author, Theofrastos Andreopoulos, has consistently covered Russia's war against Ukraine from a perspective close to the Russian information agenda.

Another outlet that spread the claim was the little-known French media resource BSEAN MEDIA ACTU. Reports about the alleged Saab-340 incident appeared only on its social media pages (Facebook and Instagram). The outlet provided no independent confirmation and has previously been accused of disseminating Russian narratives, including hosting deleted videos of so-called documentaries praising Vladimir Putin.

Notably, neither the Ukrainian Defense Ministry nor even the Russian Defense Ministry reported any such incident. Some Russian sources have also pointed out the absence of official confirmation.

In addition, as of the time of publication, there are no photos, videos, satellite images, or other OSINT data confirming the loss of an aircraft of this class over Ukraine. For an event of such scale, the absence of secondary evidence is highly unusual.

Thus, the claim about the alleged downing of a Saab-340 is unsubstantiated and has been spread primarily through pro-Russian social media accounts, pro-war bloggers, and little-known foreign media outlets previously associated with narratives aligned with Russian propaganda.

Meanwhile, during Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia itself has repeatedly lost A-50 long-range airborne early warning aircraft. One was damaged by a drone on February 26, 2023, at the Machulishchy airbase in Belarus. Two more were reportedly lost in winter 2024 over the Sea of Azov and in Krasnodar Krai. At least two A-50 aircraft were also reportedly struck during the SBU special operation "Spiderweb" on June 1, 2025.

Such disinformation campaigns are often used to create an impression of technological superiority and alleged military success without independent verification.

Earlier, Russian propaganda fabricated a claim about a supposed hantavirus outbreak among Ukrainian servicemen.

Andrii Olenin

First photo: Gnolam, CC BY-SA 3.0