Mission “ Sky”… the first feature film depicting Syrian-Russian cooperation in combating terrorism

Cinemas in  the Russian capital city of Moscow and other Russian cities started on Wednesday  to screen  the 2021 Russian aviation war  film mission “ Sky” , which sheds light on Syrian-Russian cooperation in combating terrorism in Syria, and documents the feat of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Force Oleg Peshkov of the Russian Air Force  , who was martyred while performing a combat mission in Syria  when a Turkish fighter shot down his Su-24 plane  on the 24th of November 2015.

The film is based on real events when a number of militants  shot the Russian pilot  Peshkov in the air while he was  descending using his  parachute  after his Su-24  plane was hit by the fire of the Turkish fighter,

Meanwhile , a  group  of Syrian and Russian special forces rescued the pilot , Konstantin Murakhtin, after he landed safely by parachute before the terrorists  managed to  reach him.

Later, all the militants who committed this crime were eliminated, and the deceased pilot   Peshkov  was posthumously awarded the title of “Hero of Russia” after his martyrdom, while the other pilot  Murakhtin, was awarded the Russian “Order of Courage “.

The  pilot Murakhtin,  who was rescued, said at a press conference before the first feature film at  the October cinema in Moscow that “the film’s directors  sought to present the events in their chronological order” , stressing that Peshkov remained faithful to himself and to the pledge he made to his country in devotion to national duty, and this what young  generations should be brought up on.

In turn, the film’s director and screenwriter Igor Kopylov said that “the actors and the work team exerted every possible  effort  with great dedication to show those events that took place in Syria with  their heroes  pilots Peshkov and Murakhtin.”

For his part, the actor Igor Petrenko, who played the role of Peshkov, said that he was keen to show the feelings of the true hero in the film, indicating that the difficulties in filming the movie  cannot be compared to what the two Russian pilots experienced in real life.

The events of the film, which confirmed  the necessity of carrying out the national duty to the end and fulfilling the principles of sincerity, honor and patriotism, were filmed in Syria, the Crimea, and the cities of Moscow, Petersburg and Lipetsk. Many shots were taken under the national flags of Syria  and Russia.

The movie  mission “ Sky”  is the first Russian feature film dedicated to the participation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the fight against terrorism alongside the heroes of the Syrian Arab Army.

The film was produced under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu included the film on  the list of mandatory films to be shown at  all units of the Russian Armed Forces.

Rawaa Ghanam