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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Will Stewart & Alahna Kindred

Russian fighter pilots eject from warplane moments before it's shot down by Ukrainians

This is the dramatic moment two Russian pilots eject themselves from a flaming fighter jet after it was struck by Ukrainian forces.

The Sukhoi jet was seen spiralling out of control before hitting the ground in a giant fireball.

White parachutes of two Russian Su-34 pilots can be seen in the sky after Ukrainian forces struck the jet while on a bombing mission.

It is unclear what happened to the pilots, but some reports have suggested they were rescued by a Russian helicopter to prevent the Ukrainians from capturing them.

It is thought the jet was shot down near Balakliia, in the Kharkiv region, which is a key railway junction.

These red circles show the two Russian pilots in their parachutes (@balakleya_life/east2west news)

The footage comes on the same day as reports that Vladimir Putin has launched a new attack on Ukraine after shelling five train stations in the space of an hour.

According to the head of Ukrainian Railways, Alexander Kamyshin, the targets in central and western Ukraine were attacked on Monday morning which had caused 16 passenger trains to be delayed.

Mr Kamyshin also added the attacks were all coming within an hour of each other, with footage posted to social media showing black smoke rising from the site.

This the black cloud of smoke from the fighter jet that was shot down (@balakleya_life/east2west news)
This the incredible moment the jet bursts into flames (@balakleya_life/east2west news)

He believes Ukrainian railways are being targeted.

Russians keep destroying Ukrainian railway infrastructure,” he said.

According to Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv region, a missile hit an electrical substation at around 8.30am local time, he posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Meanwhile, it is not known yet which towns were targeted with Russia not immediately commenting on the claims.

Russia has shelled five Ukraine train stations in the space of an hour (AFP via Getty Images)

Previously, train stations have been targets during the conflict with a Russian missile strike at a station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk earlier this month killing at least 50 people, including children.

He said: “There is no information about casualties yet."

A station in Krasne, east of Lviv, is said to be among those hit as further details are to be released.

Shards of glass from broken train windows are seen at a railway station (REUTERS)

However, the footage showing Putin's plane going down in a ball of flames comes as another blow to the Kremlin chief's war effort.

It is as yet unclear how the Ukrainians downed the Su-34 but it is believed to have been a surface-to-air missile.

A pro-Ukrainian report said: "Information from eyewitnesses. Two helicopters flew to the area of the hit plane, and one of them landed twice.

"It looks like they took away pilot killers."

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