THIS is the dramatic moment a Russian warplane plunges from the sky before it explodes into pieces.
The chilling footage claims to show one of Putin’s planes tumbling to the ground after being brutally taken out by a ferocious Ukrainian missile strike.
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Ukrainian sources say the video shows a Russian Su-34 crashing violently near the village of Dyakove in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.
A plane can be seen plummeting down at high speed as it catches light and goes up in flames before exploding.
A large cloud of thick, black smoke is all that can be seen after the blast.
A second Su-34 fighter-bomber and a Su-35 fighter are also believed to have been sent tumbling to the ground by Ukrainian missiles, say reports in Kyiv.
If true, Putin would’ve suffered over $100million in losses, according to reports.
Russian war channels admitted one Su-35 had been lost but said the pilot managed to scramble to eject himself before being “evacuated in a timely manner”.
There hasn’t been any mention of the other two warplanes yet.
A picture circulating in Russian media allegedly shows a team of rescuers with the Su-35 pilot after he successfully escaped the burning wreckage before it exploded.
Unconfirmed reports have even said that pro-Putin forces downed the plane by its own air defences.
The commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk said his side are certain about the three successful hits.
Oleschuk said: “On the morning of February 17, 2024, in the Eastern direction, units of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed three enemy aircraft at once – two Su-34 fighter-bombers and one Su-35 fighter.
“Nothing will stop us.”
He also went on to mock the Russians saying they were worried about announcing all three losses.
Oleschuk said: “Let me remind you that the Su-35S is a single-seater aircraft, the Su-34 is a two-seater.
“According to radio interception, one pilot was found, the others were ‘searched for’.”
He then published a map showing the exact spot he said Russian rescuers were sent to search for the living and dead pilots.
Before claiming the Russians were still actively looking for the pilots.
The Russians claimed Oleschuk’s claims are fake.
Popular Russian FighterBomber Telegram channel initially called out Ukraine for “lying” and said there were “no losses”.
Although several other Russian channels “confirmed that the Ukrainian military shot down at least one Russian Su-35 aircraft”.
Previously a Russian sea spy platform was destroyed by Ukrainian special operations forces near the coast of annexed Crimea.
Footage showed troops onboard the mining platform, which Russia had captured and was using for drone attacks, special forces said.
The camera followed the SSO operators in the dawn hours as they conducted a search for “important equipment”, including a radar and an unmanned aerial vehicle signal enhancing system.
As they travelled away from the platform by boat, a bright explosion could be seen in the background.
This comes as Ukraine formally announced it was withdrawing forces from war-torn Avdiivka – in a significant gain for Russia.
Ukraine said it was retreating to maintain strength and preserve the life of as many soldiers as possible.
New Ukrainian commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said: “Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, (and) inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment…
“The life of military personnel is (of) the highest value.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky also said they made the tough decision to withdraw from the battlefield “in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of our servicemen”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The president has congratulated our soldiers and fighters on such an important victory and such a success.”
Russia was reported to be advancing by treading on the corpses of its fallen soldiers.
The commanding general on the spot, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, said:
“In a situation where the enemy is advancing over the corpses of its own soldiers under constant bombardment and has an advantage of 10 to one, this is the only correct decision.”
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