This is believed to be the moment Russian forces shot down their own £80million fighter jet in an act of friendly fire in Ukraine.
The supersonic SU-35, which is one of the Kremlin’s most advanced aircraft, burst into flames over the city of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Pro-war channels in the country acknowledged that a warplane was destroyed by a Russian S-300 air defence system, with the pilot believed to have been killed in the process.
Video which purports to show the incident was released today, showing an orange glow and flash in the sky which could be the moment the plane explodes on impact with the missile.
The incident – if confirmed – represents a new setback for Vladimir Putin whose forces have been hit by a succession of strikes by Ukraine, including the loss of the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet one week ago.
Video: Russia shoot down own £80m fighter jet in friendly fire in Ukraine
There has been no official confirmation of the night incident, although comments made by one Russian blogger appeared to acknowledge the loss.
Russian aviation Z-blogger Fighterbomber published a photo of a SU-35 with the message: ‘Eternal flight, brother.’
Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind appeared to confirm this as well, posting: ‘Russian air defence vs Russian Su-35 1:0.
‘Russian soldiers used an S-300 missile to shoot down their own plane near Tokmak.
‘Work, brothers! Do not stop!’
Russia has lost approximately 90 planes since the start of the war against Ukraine, said an assessment by the British MoD ahead of the latest incident.
The ‘viability’ of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ (VKS) long-term tactical air power is likely to degrade as the war goes on, said the MoD.
‘The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have lost approximately 90 fixed-wing aircraft in combat since February 2022,’ said the assessment.
‘It has also been flying some of its combat aircraft types far more intensively than in peace time.’
It comes after Ukraine launched a devastating missile attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters, killing a high-ranking Admiral in the process.
Admiral Viktor Sokolov, 61, commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was killed along with 34 officers in an attack on the Crimean base in Sevastapol last week.
It is claimed that attack, which happened as Sokolov met other commanders for a war-planning session, took place after naval officers leaked top secret details to a partisan resistnace group after they hadn’t been paid.
‘Delays in [salary] payments alone do not force the military armed forces of the Russian Federation to go against the Russian authorities,’ a spokesperson for anti-Putin ATESH partisan group told Kyiv Post.
Video: Moment Ukrainian missile hits Russian navy HQ in Sevastopol
In retribution Putin ordered a Russian drone barrage in the Black Sea port of Odesa in an attack that damaged a warehouse, charred dozens of trucks and injured two drivers in fiery explosions that led to the suspension of the ferry service between Romania and Ukraine.
Video shot from the Romanian side of the Danube River showed rapid bursts of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire streaking through the night sky followed by two orange fireballs exploding near the port area. Photos showed burned-out frames of trucks.
Russian forces targeted the area of Izmail in the Odesa region, in what has become a sustained campaign to target Ukraine’s ability to export grain. Attacks on Monday killed two people in a grain warehouse in Odesa and badly damaged an abandoned high-rise hotel, officials said.
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