This is the dramatic moment a Russian Su-25 attack plane was shot down by a giant fireball after being hit by a U-18 missile.Defenders of Ukraine.
The missile can be seen hitting the left wing and tail of the Russian fighter jet, valued at up to £19.5m, which then burst into flames.
Russian military sources confirmed that the attack took place in the Pokrovsk area in the occupied Donetsk region. The area is known as the Pokrovsk Triangle, where several warplanes had already been shot down.
The source also said the pilot had ejected safely and that “everything is fine with him.” The plane was one of two that were shot down by a portable anti-aircraft system.
This comes after a Russian airstrike overnight damaged a power facility in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, cutting off electricity supplies to 50,400 consumers, Ukrainian officials said.
This is the moment when the portable anti-aircraft complex fires a missile at the Su-25 aircraft.
Extraordinary images show the missile tracking before hitting the plane
The attack plane, valued at up to £19.5m, was one of two shot down.
A Ukrainian military channel reported: “Two Russian pilots committed the folly of flying close to our positions. One of them was immediately punished for his insolence.”
“It’s burning, I see the plane burning,” said an exultant voice also after the attack.
In the overnight attack on Sumy, Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram that its air defense systems destroyed seven of the eight drones launched by Russia.
Russia also sent a Kh-69 guided air missile, the air force said, but added that as a result of countermeasures by its forces, the missile “failed to hit its target.”
The Ministry of Energy, which reported the power outages, did not specify the weapon that caused the damage to the facilities. According to its statement on Telegram, power has been restored to about 24,500 consumers so far.
There were no casualties in the attack, the region’s military administration said on Telegram.
A look at the moment the plane hits the ground and explodes.
A pilot was seen ejecting with a parachute before it exploded, Russian sources confirmed
Russia resumed its long-range attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this spring, targeting thermal and hydroelectric power plants as well as gas storage facilities.
Ukraine says the attacks have destroyed 9 gigawatts of power-generating capacity across the country, causing blackouts in many regions and impacting GDP growth.
Today, a Ukrainian drone strike is also reported to have damaged a ferry and killed one person in the Russian port of Kavkaz in the southern Krasnodar region.
A fire at the port sparked by the drone strike was later extinguished, state news agency RIA reported, citing an emergency services source.
The port of Kavkaz is located on a narrow strip of land off the Crimean peninsula. Ferries departing from there help connect mainland Russia with Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.