Cable failures are always a possibility. Routine maintenance says to change them after a specified number of traps.
He ejected because Kuz nets off............
Affirmative, both.
Reports have it that the pilot was lax, violated procedure, and was unprepared for arrest failure.
This speaks to lack of experience, training, and discipline. Certainly the Russians don't have a lot of the first two in carrier operations, as they both can't yet afford carrier groups and have not previously planned to project power using carrier groups.