Rebel shelling of the Syrian government-held part of Aleppo has killed a Russian nurse in a makeshift hospital while the defence ministry in Moscow says a Russian fighter jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after a sortie over Syria.
The developments were a blow to Russia, which has been one of the staunchest supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country's bitter civil war, now in its sixth year.
The shelling that killed the female nurse also wounded two Russian doctors working in the field hospital, a Russian officer in Aleppo told reporters on Monday.
The hospital equipment was part of aid that Moscow had sent into the Furqan neighbourhood in the government section of the city the previous day.
In Moscow, Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov confirmed the death of one Russian medic in Aleppo and said two were seriously wounded in an artillery attack that hit the Russian military hospital.
He said an unspecified number of local residents who were at the hospital were also wounded and accused the United States, Britain and France of tipping off the rebels about the hospital's location.
"The blood of our soldiers is on the hands of those who ordered this murder. Those who created, nurtured and armed these beasts in human form and named them the 'opposition'," Konashenkov said.
Separately, the Defence Ministry said a Russian Su-33 fighter jet, based on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after returning from a sortie over Syria. The ministry said that "because of the failure of the arrester system's cable, the Su-33 fighter rolled off the deck" on Monday.
The pilot successfully ejected and was unharmed, the ministry said, adding that Russian military operations over Syria would not be affected by the incident.
This is the second loss of an aircraft from Russia's only aircraft carrier since it arrived off Syria last month. A MiG-29 crashed into the sea on November 15 while attempting to land on the Admiral Kuznetsov.
In Aleppo, rebel shelling on the government-held part of the contested city has intensified in recent weeks as Syrian government and allied troops push their way into parts of Aleppo controlled by the opposition.
