Orient Net, 6 February 2018— The Russian Defence Ministry on Monday (February 5) named Major Roman Filipov as the pilot of the jet downed by Syrian opposition fighters on Saturday (February 3) and said he had been posthumously awarded the title of “Hero of the Russian Federation”.

Defence ministry said the pilot ejected, fought with opposition fighters on the ground, then blew himself up with a grenade when they got close to him.

On Monday, Russia has ordered its warplanes in Syria to fly higher to avoid being shot down by shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles.

Shoulder-launched missiles obtained by opposition fighters posed a threat to all planes operating in Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said but it was too early to say who had supplied the weapons system used to shoot down the Russian SU-25.