Court Rules Russian Defense Ministry Liable for Fatal Su-34 Jet Crash in Yeysk

A judge in the southern Krasnodar region has held the Russian Defense Ministry accountable for damages resulting from a military jet crash in October 2022 that resulted in the deaths of 16 individuals, as reported by the Kommersant business newspaper on Wednesday.

The lawsuit was filed by the relatives of an elderly woman who perished when a Su-34 fighter-bomber collided with an apartment building in the port town of Yeysk on October 17, 2022.

The family initiated legal action against both the Defense Ministry and the United Strategic Command of the Eastern Military District, seeking restitution for damages and emotional distress, according to the report from Kommersant.

Last year, a local court in Yeysk partially granted the family’s claims but excluded the Defense Ministry from the list of defendants.

The Krasnodar Regional Court has now overturned that ruling, determining that the ministry holds “secondary liability” because it oversees and finances the military units under its command. Based on this classification, the ministry is responsible for compensation if the Eastern Military District fails to pay.

The report from Kommersant did not specify the amount the family of the deceased woman was requesting.

In a different case, a Yeysk court reportedly awarded 500,000 rubles ($6,500) each to a mother and her daughter injured in the incident last September, which was noted to be half of what they had initially sought.

Initially, at least six families sought compensation of up to 12 million rubles ($131,000) each from the Defense Ministry.

A criminal investigation into the crash was concluded after authorities determined that a flock of seagulls had entered both engines of the Su-34, leading to a loss of control and the subsequent crash.