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Data from Black Box of Downed Su-24 Impossible to Retrieve — Russian Defense Ministry

A Russian Su-24 fighter jet

The information from the damaged black box of a Russian fighter-bomber shot down by Turkish fighter jets last month is impossible to decipher, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

The decoding of the data is not possible yet because of internal damages, Lieutenant General Sergei Baynetov, deputy head of the air safety service of the Russian Defense Ministry, said, according to RIA Novosti.

Thirteen of 16 microchips are nearly destroyed, and the remaining three are damaged, Baynetov said, RIA Novosti reported.

The ministry will recruit specialized scientific institutions that can read information directly from the crystal chip, Baynetov said, adding that this process will require a lot of time,the news agency reported.

The Russian Su-24 was downed by Turkey near the Syrian border on Nov. 24. The incident, which President Vladimir Putin called "a stab in the back," was followed by a package of economic measures imposed on Turkey by the Kremlin.

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