CNN is reporting Tuesday that a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syria border was shot down by Turkish aircraft for what the country called a violation of its airspace.
Turkish media is reporting that two of its F-16s hit the Russian plane within the rules of engagement and after several warnings, while Russian state media said that it was "gunned down from the ground." According to BBC, it marks the first time a Russian plane has crashed in Syria since Vladimir Putin began ordering air support to assist Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Putin called the incident a "stab in the back" and said there would be consequences for Turkey.
Russian officials denied that the plane had violated Turkish airspace. Both pilots ejected from the plane, but their fate is unknown, Sputnik said.
Turkey released a purported image of the flight path of the plane showing that it had violated Turkish airspace. Turkey said it issued 10 warnings to the aircraft before responding "within engagement rules" near the Turkey-Syria border.
But the Russian Defense Ministry said "objective monitoring confirmed" the plane was not in Turkish airspace.
"The Su-24 bomber jet was in Syrian airspace at the altitude 6,000 meters, the Russian Defense Ministry said," according to Sputnik. "The pilots were reportedly able to parachute out of the jet before it crashed."
A U.S. defense official told CNN Turkey informed Washington that it had shot down a Russian military aircraft near the Syrian border after an airspace violation.
The U.S. was reportedly not involved in the incident. A NATO official told CNN that there will be an "extraordinary meeting" of NATO to discuss it.