Imagery suggests Su-57 burned at Akhtubinsk

TLDR

• A Ukrainian Telegram channel says a Su-57 burned at Akhtubinsk on 29 October during engine start-up, citing satellite images.¹
• Kyiv Post confirmed the image shows Akhtubinsk but could not verify its date or that the wreck is a Su-57.²
• Russia has not confirmed the loss; if true, it would be the fourth Su-57 lost or damaged in 2026.²³

A Russian Su-57 fifth-generation fighter caught fire and burned down at the Akhtubinsk airfield in Russia's Astrakhan region on 29 October, according to the Ukrainian OSINT Telegram channel Absolutely Reliable Source, which published satellite images of the site.¹ The channel attributes the fire to "an abnormal situation during engine startup" and says the aircraft burned completely.¹

Why it matters: the claim rests on one channel's imagery, and the outlets repeating it add context rather than independent evidence. Kyiv Post matched the image to Akhtubinsk using Google Maps but could not date it or confirm the aircraft type.² Treat it as a lead until another source shows the site.

Driving the news:

• Oboronka reported the channel's post on 30 October. The channel counts this as the fourth Su-57 lost or damaged in 2026.¹
• UNITED24 Media, citing Militarnyi, describes the cause as preliminary information and labels the imagery as 29 October.³
• Euromaidan Press says the images show a dark scorch mark and debris on open ground between the airfield's taxiways. It says Militarnyi also called the cause preliminary.⁴
• Kyiv Post notes Akhtubinsk hosts Russia's State Flight Test Center, where Su-57s have been tested and delivered.²

The big picture: the other 2026 cases are Ukrainian drone strikes on Su-57s at Shagol airfield on 25 April and a crash near Moscow on 23 July.¹³ Moscow described the July aircraft as a training flight with no weapons aboard, and Kyiv Post says a criminal case was opened.² A Russian Telegram channel said Russian air defence shot it down, per Euromaidan Press.⁴ Kyiv Post adds that Ukraine's military intelligence said a drone attack damaged a Su-57 at Akhtubinsk in June 2024.²

The other side: Russian officials have not confirmed the claim.² Kyiv Post says it could not independently verify when the photo was taken or whether the wreckage is a Su-57.²

Single-source note: every report traces back to the same Telegram channel's imagery. None of the images was reviewed here. Fleet-size figures differ: Euromaidan Press cites a Ukrainian intelligence estimate of about 20 Su-57s, while Kyiv Post cites a National Interest estimate of around 32 including prototypes.⁴²