Ukraine has shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber that was dropping precision-guided munitions (PGMs) on Zaporizhzhia, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.
“At about 4.00 a.m. [0100 UTC] on Sept. 25, 2025, a Russian Su-34 aircraft was shot down in the Zaporizhzhia sector, while carrying out terrorist attacks on the city with guided bombs,” the Air Force wrote on Telegram.
The report did not specify how the aircraft was shot down, and no photo or video evidence has been released so far.
The Sukhoi Su-34 (NATO: Fullback) is a two-seat, long-range strike aircraft developed from the Su-27 (NATO: Flanker) fighter in 1990. However, financial and technical setbacks delayed its entry into service until 2014.
In mid-September, Russia received a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers from the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), a subsidiary of the state arms conglomerate Rostec.
UAC did not specify how many aircraft were delivered, but the Militarnyi defense news outlet identified at least two airframes, noting it was the fourth delivery this year following earlier batches in April, July, and August.
UAC CEO Vadim Badekha claimed September marked a record number of deliveries, crediting staff and production improvements.
A July report based on wreckage from Ukraine shows that the Su-34 relies heavily on foreign components, with 221 identified from 59 companies in eight countries, primarily in the US, Japan, and EU states.
Su-34s have been frequent Ukrainian targets due to their role in bombing sorties. In July, four were reportedly put out of action on the tarmac in Volgograd during a special operation, while one more crashed during a training flight from Savasleyka airfield in the Nizhny Novgorod region after a landing gear failure.
An unspecified number of Su-34s were also damaged in another operation in June.
According to open-source investigations cited by Slashgear in mid-June, Russia has lost 38 of its 163 Su-34s since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This news story will be updated as more information becomes available.