Analysis of a Contested Su-27 Fire Video and the Question of Authenticity

The video circulating on the Telegraph channel “Fake War” claims that saboteurs set a fire on a Su-27 fighter from the Russian Aerospace Forces in Artem, Primorsky Krai. The channel’s message, however, presents a different narrative: it suggests that Ukrainian propaganda funded a hoax by burning a real Su-27, but asserts that the aircraft shown belongs to the Ukrainian Air Force rather than the Russian Aerospace Forces. The video’s quality is low enough that viewers can see a yellow-blue circle painted on the lower wing surface when the footage is paused frame by frame. According to the claim, that coloring is the Ukrainian national emblem, and it would indicate the aircraft is part of Ukraine’s air fleet rather than Russia’s. The post adds that the presence of this mark on the wing would be a telling sign of an edited or staged scene rather than a genuine Russian loss, and it notes that the same blue-and-yellow insignia is sometimes visible on Su-27s from the Ukrainian forces in other frames.