MOSCOW, August 23 - RAPSI. A commercial court has returned to the Kurgan Regional Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Department its lawsuit to recover $127,000 in damages from a military unit after a SU-24 bomber crashed into Bolshoi Koshkul Lake, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Thursday.

The department sought the damages from Military Unit No. 71592, a federal budget-financed entity.

The plaintiff said it learned on February 14 that the units SU-24 jet had fallen into the lake. It later established that the level of oil products in the lake exceeded the admissible level because of the unit's late attempts to remedy the situation. The department decided to fine the unit 30,000 rubles ($940).

Under the Water Code, the punishment for breaking water legislation does not relieve the guilty party from liability to rectify the violation and compensate for the damage.
The department took into account the military's costs to remedy the situation while calculating the damages amount. When the unit refused to pay the compensation, the department took the case to court.