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The surviving pilot of a Russian jet downed by Turkey has said there were no warnings before they were struck out of the sky, it's reported.

Captain Konstantin Murakhtin told a Russian TV station that his plane was flying over Syrian territory and did not violate Turkish airspace as the first picture of the pilot emerged on social media.

Speaking for the first time since the incident yesterday, Mr Murakhtin said he knew the region like the back of his hand and "couldn't possibly have flown into Turkish airspace".

Mr Murakhtin was rescued early on Wednesday by Russian and Syrian commando and was speaking in televised comments from the Russian Hemeimeem air base in Syria.

Mr Murakhtin, who was at the controls, said Turkey did not give any visual or radio signal before the jet was shot at an altitude of 6,000, he told Russia's Rossiya 1 channel.

(Image: Getty)

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Mr Murakhtin added that he wants to keep flying missions from the base "to pay them back for my commander".

"There were no warnings, either by radio or visually. There was no contact whatsoever," TASS quoted Murakhtin as saying at a hospital in the Syrian province of Latakia, where Russia has an airbase.

"If they wanted to warn us, they could have shown themselves by taking a parallel course. There was nothing. And the missile hit the tail of our aircraft suddenly, we did not see it in time to do an anti-missile manoeuvre."

(Image: Getty)

His colleague, who was named as Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshov, was reportedly killed by militants after bailing out.

Meanwhile Russian forces were reportedly pounding insurgent-held areas in Syria's Latakia province, unleashing a wave of air strikes on mountains near where the Russian jet was shot down.

Jahed Ahmad, a spokesman for a rebel brigade in the region affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, said the Russians appear to be taking "revenge" for the plane's downing by Turkey, a key backer of the rebels in the area.

Speaking from inside Syria via Skype, he said the Russian jets were providing cover for advancing Syrian ground forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies.

(Image: Getty)

It comes after Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 bomber on Tuesday, saying it crossed into its airspace from Syria despite repeated warnings.

President Vladimir Putin said the Russian plane remained in Syria's skies when it was shot down.

He described Turkey's action as a "crime" and a "stab in the back", warning of serious consequences.

(Image: Getty)

Putin has said the Captain Murakhtin and his rescuers should be decorated for bravery, it was earlier reported.

The president has praised the navigator and said he will be awarded the Order of Courage, according to AFP.

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The dead pilot has posthumously been named a Hero of Russia, the country’s highest military award.

Captain Murakhtin is “safe and sound” at an air base in Latakia province after being rescued in an overnight 12-hour rescue operation.

(Image: Rex)

A statement from the Syrian armed forces said a special unit carried out overnight a “qualitative” operation with Russian forces and rescued one of the two pilots.

In a statement carried by Syria’s official news agency SANA, the army said the Syrian and Russian forces penetrated into the areas where “terrorists” are entrenched at a depth of 4.5 kilometers and rescued the pilot. It said he is in “good health”.

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One of the marines, named as Alexander Pozynich, was killed during the operation and has been posthumously awarded the Order of Courage, it's reported.

Putin today ordered state-of-the-art air defence missile systems be deployed at a Russian air base in Syria.

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The S-400 missile systems, which will be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, located just about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey, are capable of targeting Turkish jets with deadly precision.

The Russian president's move raised the threat of a military confrontation between his country and Nato member Turkey.

If Russia shot down a Turkish plane, Nato would be required to intervene.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that the Russian missile cruiser Moskva has already moved closer to shore to protect the Russian aircraft flying missions near Syria's border with Turkey with its long-range Fort air defence system.

Mr Shoigu also said that from now on all Russian bombers will be escorted by fighters on their combat missions in Syria.

He said that his ministry has severed all contacts with the Turkish military.

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Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who cancelled his planned trip to Turkey after the incident, described the shooting down of the Russian plane as a "planned provocation".

He said the Turkish action came after Russian planes successfully targeted the oil infrastructure used by Islamic State, alleging that Turkey benefited from the oil trade.

Mr Lavrov also said that Turkish territory was used by "terrorists" to prepare terror attacks in other countries, but offered no details.

He said that Russia "has no intention to go to war with Turkey", but added that Moscow will re-consider its ties with Ankara.

The Russian foreign ministry has already warned Russians against travelling to Turkey, and some leading Russian tourist agencies suspended the sales of tour packages to Turkey.

Mr Lavrov's comments came as the Turkish embassy in Moscow was targeted by protesters hurling eggs and stones.

Windows at the embassy's compound were shattered and eggs pelted against the walls after a protest there went sour this afternoon.

(Image: Reuters)

Meanwhile, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country does not wish to escalate tensions with Russia over the downing of the plane.

Speaking at an Organisation of Islamic Co-operation economy meeting in Istanbul, Mr Erdogan said that Turkey favours "peace, dialogue and diplomacy".

He defended his country's move to shoot down the plane, saying: "No one should expect Turkey to stay silent to border violations or the violation of its rights."

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Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu also sought to ease tensions, saying that Russia is Turkey's "friend and neighbour" and insisting relations cannot be "sacrificed to accidents of communication".

Mr Davutoglu told his party's MPs that Turkey did not know the nationality of the plane that was brought down until Moscow announced it was Russian.

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He again defended Turkey's action, saying Russia was warned on several occasions that Turkey would take action in case its border is violated in line with its military rules of engagement.

Mr Davutoglu also said Russia is an "important partner and tops the list of countries with which we have shown great sensitivity in building ties".

The prime minister, however, also criticised Russian and Syrian operations in Syria's Turkmen region, saying there is "not one single" presence of Islamic State there. Mr Davutoglu demanded that operations there stop immediately.