Moment Putin attack warplane is shot over Ukraine, exploding in fireball after pilot ejects to safety

By WILL STEWART

Published: 09:02 GMT, 9 February 2025 | Updated: 09:05 GMT, 9 February 2025

This the moment a low-flying £11 million Russian Su-25 attack aircraft is shot down by Ukrainian troops.

The Putin warplane can be seen exploding in a fireball and black smoke as it hits the ground near the village of Zaitsevo, close to a major battle scene in Toretsk, Donetsk region.

The pilot ejected and is ‘alive and safe’, according to reports.

The plane was hit by a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile, confirmed the Ukrainians.

Footage apparently showed a Russian rescue helicopter plucking the Su-25 pilot to safety after he had hidden in the forest.

However, the rescue Mi-8 helicopter was attacked by Ukrainian FPV drones with aerial detonation.

The Mi-8 helicopter was also hit by ‘radio-electronic warfare’, say reports.

The Ukrainian side said: ‘The Mi-8 helicopter tried to evacuate the pilot, but the FPV crews did not allow him to do so.

The Putin warplane can be seen exploding in a fireball and black smoke as it hits the ground near the village of Zaitsevo

The rescue Mi-8 helicopter was attacked by Ukrainian FPV drones with aerial detonation

The plane was hit by a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile, confirmed the Ukrainians

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Feb. 7, 202

‘As a result, the helicopter limped back and needs repair.’

Russian source Fighterbomber Telegram channel reported: ‘Yes, we lost the plane. It happens.

‘The pilot is in hospital, everything is fine.’

It comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed a new Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region and said that North Korean troops were fighting alongside Russian forces there.

‘In the areas of the Kursk operation, new assaults have taken place,’ Mr Zelensky said during his Friday address, adding: ‘Russia has once again deployed North Korean soldiers alongside its troops.’

According to Mr Zelensky, a ‘significant number’ of enemy troops were destroyed. He gave no details but said the losses were in the hundreds.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that it had repelled a Ukrainian counter-attack in the Kursk region.

Russia said on Friday its forces had captured the mining town of Toretsk in their latest breakthrough in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where Ukrainian defences are creaking. Ukrainian officials did not confirm the report.

South Korea’s military said last month that it suspected North Korea was preparing to send additional troops to Russia after its soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

North Korea has been supplying a vast amount of artillery and other conventional weapons to Russia, and last October it sent about 10,000-12,000 troops as well, according to US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence.

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Moment Putin attack warplane is shot over Ukraine, exploding in fireball after pilot ejects to safety

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