Russia has ordered its warplanes in Syria to fly higher to avoid being shot down by shoulder launched anti-aircraft missiles after one of its jets was shot out of the sky on Saturday, the Izvestia daily reported on Monday. The reported policy change came after Syrian rebels shot down a Russian SU-25 plane on Saturday in Idlib Province and killed its pilot on the ground after he ejected from the plane. Izvestia, citing the Russian Defence Ministry, said a decision had been taken that such planes would in future only fly above a ceiling of 5,000 meters (16,404.2 ft) in an effort to keep them safe. It said that such a policy had previously been in force, but that the SU-25s had for some reason started flying at lower altitudes in recent days. Russian media has cast the pilot shot down on Saturday, named as Major Roman Filipov, as a hero and said he is in line for a posthumous state award.

Source: Egypt Independent February 05, 2018 09:33 UTC