Russian pilots were shot dead as they parachuted to Earth. This just got way worse.

[Igel]

35. One of these things is not like the other.

And since there are two, it's not a problem to point to the dissimilar things.

Downing the plane is defense of airspace. After repeated warnings that Russian pilots have ignored (they have rights but not responsibilities), they were fired upon. That's on their heads and those of their commanders.

Killing the pilots as they parachuted down doesn't have the same status. However, not all tribal cultures have signed on to the Geneva Conventions or the ideas of "modern" warfare.

At the same time, without defending the Turkmen tribesmen, I can understand them: These were their enemies, those who (impersonally) were trying to kill people just like those who did the shooting. If the Russians had touched down, would they have just surrendered or engaged in a firefight that could have killed Turkmen? It's really a strange idea to say, "Hey, they were trying to kill me, so I'll be nice to them. Heck, I'll even let them shoot at me and maybe kill me, just out of fairness. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt--maybe they won't try to kill us, and if they surrender maybe Russia won't launch a raid that gets us killed when we don't just practice catch-and-release."