The Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian fighter jet Su-35 near the city of Nova Kakhovka, during heavy fighting in the southern part of the country, Ukraine's defence ministry said on Twitter. The video of the fighter jet crashing to the ground after being shot has surfaced on various social media platforms. It shows the plane plunging from the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. As it hits the ground, a huge plume of dark smoke rises into the sky as the jet explodes on impact.
According to the description of the Reddit post, the Su-35 attacked the aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force. It also said that the pilot ejected before the plane hit the ground.
The Defence Ministry further said that this is yet another Su-35 which has been shot down by the Ukrainian forces. "The Ukrainian Air Force (yes, once again) shot down russian fighter jet Su-35 near Nova Kakhovka, Southern Ukraine," it said on Twitter.
The Command of the Air Force of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a Facebook post that the fighter jet was shot down by the anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force on Tuesday. "The destroyer tried to attack the stormmen of the Air Force of Ukraine," the post said.
"In addition, in the last 24 hours, the Air Force anti-aircraft missile units have shot down 5 operational-tactical-level unmanned aircraft," the Air Force command further said according to English translation of the post.
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Last week, Ukrainian officials said that their forces had destroyed an ammunition depot in the Russia-held town in Ukraine's southern Kherson region.
Ukraine says Russian forces have targeted civilians since they invaded on February 24, leaving cities, towns and villages in ruins, but Moscow rejects the charge and in turn says Ukrainians are responsible for civilians' deaths.
Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine claiming it was a "special military operation" to demilitarise its neighbour and rid it of dangerous nationalists. Kyiv and the West say it was an imperialist land grab by Mr Putin.
