Moment one of Putin's warplanes crashes after wing falls off during bombing raid
This is the extraordinary moment a wing fell off a Russian Su-25 during a frontline mission.
War footage captured the second the £15 million attack jet crashed after flying in a pair over Ukraine's Donetsk region.
The pilot miraculously cheated death by ejecting before his aircraft fell to the ground.
His doomed warplane is seen banking sharply before falling out of the sky and crash diving into a field.
At first it appeared the Su-25 had been shot down – possibly by 'friendly fire', an unguided missile, from its partner plane, a claim made by the Ukrainian media.
The footage shows heat trap flares and possible missiles from the Su-25s.
Ukraine's Military media outlet ruled out both friendly fire and an exploding missile on the distressed aircraft.
Yet experts on both sides now believe the aircraft's downing near Soledar could be related to Vladimir Putin's use of ageing war planes, with some Russian jets 40 years old or more.
While flames and white smoke are seen rising from the aircraft, there is no giant explosion, which would be expected if there was a direct missile hit.
The right wing is seen falling from the stricken aircraft – and the pilot's parachute is visible after ejecting.
The pilot was reportedly rescued by Russian ground forces while under fire from Ukrainian drones.
He was then evacuated from the crash site by a Mi-8 helicopter.
'The pilot is in the hospital with a broken arm,' reported Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber.
'A commission will investigate what went wrong and determine who is to blame.'
The same source said that 'destruction of the wing' was the cause.
Ukraine has neither officially claimed to have shot down the plane, nor taunted Russia over another friendly fire incident.
The visible 'missiles' may be unignited heat trap flares designed to distract heat-seeking missiles away from the aircraft's engines, according to some sources.
'The third possible reason is a defect in the aircraft's power structure that arose due to prolonged intensive use of the aircraft in combat operations or a manufacturing defect,' said the channel.
'This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the wing broke off at the moment of the turn, when it is subjected to the greatest loads. More Trending
'Another indirect confirmation may be that the operation of Russian attack aircraft, whose average age reaches 40 years, is associated with a significant number of emergency situations.'
The theory was backed by Ukrainian war analyst Yury Butusov, who said: 'At first it seems that it was shot down by its own pilot, the pilot of another aircraft.
'However, when viewed in slow motion, one can conclude that the Su-25's wing failed due to excessive overload and exhaustion of the attack aircraft's resources.'
The Su-25 is a Soviet-designed close-air support aircraft developed by Sukhoi in the late 1970s.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: British mothers 'have to accept that their sons will have to die for Nato'
MORE: Putin's dirty new war tactic revealed in grim photos
MORE: Putin unleashes aerial glide bombs in 'most powerful attack of entire war' on Kharkiv
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Trump could meet Putin as soon as next week, White House official says
The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined. The official was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans. The White House said Mr Trump was also open to a meeting with both Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Trump would be their first since Mr Trump returned to office this year. It would be a significant milestone in the three-year-old war, though there is no promise such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands. News of a potential meeting with Mr Putin, which was first reported by The New York Times, came hours after Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met Mr Putin in Moscow. Mr Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that Mr Witkoff 'had a highly productive meeting' with Mr Putin in which 'great progress was made'. It was not immediately clear if Mr Putin or Mr Zelensky had agreed to any meetings with Mr Trump. Mr Zelensky has been willing to meet face-to-face with Mr Putin to end the conflict, but Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea. Mr Trump has met Mr Zelensky several times this year, including a contentious February meeting in Washington. Though he has not yet met Mr Putin this year, Mr Trump met with him five times during his first term. Mr Trump said earlier on Wednesday that he updated America's allies in Europe and that they will work toward an end to the Russia-Ukraine war 'in the days and weeks to come'. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky.' Her statement did not address the potential timing of any meeting. Mr Witkoff met Mr Putin days before the White House's deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil. The meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Witkoff lasted about three hours, the Kremlin said. Mr Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Mr Putin and Mr Witkoff had a 'useful and constructive conversation' that focused on the Ukrainian crisis and, in a nod toward improving relations between Washington and Moscow, 'prospects for possible development of strategic co-operation' between the United States and Russia.
South Wales Argus
2 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Trump could meet Putin as soon as next week, White House official says
The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined. The official was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans. The White House said Mr Trump was also open to a meeting with both Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Trump would be their first since Mr Trump returned to office this year. It would be a significant milestone in the three-year-old war, though there is no promise such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands. News of a potential meeting with Mr Putin, which was first reported by The New York Times, came hours after Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met Mr Putin in Moscow. Mr Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that Mr Witkoff 'had a highly productive meeting' with Mr Putin in which 'great progress was made'. It was not immediately clear if Mr Putin or Mr Zelensky had agreed to any meetings with Mr Trump. Mr Zelensky has been willing to meet face-to-face with Mr Putin to end the conflict, but Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea. Mr Trump has met Mr Zelensky several times this year, including a contentious February meeting in Washington. Though he has not yet met Mr Putin this year, Mr Trump met with him five times during his first term. Mr Trump said earlier on Wednesday that he updated America's allies in Europe and that they will work toward an end to the Russia-Ukraine war 'in the days and weeks to come'. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky.' Her statement did not address the potential timing of any meeting. Mr Witkoff met Mr Putin days before the White House's deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil. The meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Witkoff lasted about three hours, the Kremlin said. Mr Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Mr Putin and Mr Witkoff had a 'useful and constructive conversation' that focused on the Ukrainian crisis and, in a nod toward improving relations between Washington and Moscow, 'prospects for possible development of strategic co-operation' between the United States and Russia.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump breaks silence on major Putin summit with three-word review
Donald Trump has finally addressed the possibility of a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, hours after reports of a summit started to circulate Donald Trump has finally spoken out about the buzz surrounding a potential summit with Vladimir Putin, mere hours after speculation about such a meeting began to make headlines. During a press conference at the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump indicated that there is a "very good prospect" for what could be a momentous one-on-one with Putin. While the press conference in the Oval Office was primarily about Apple's multi-billion-dollar investment in the US, the topic shifted when Trump was probed by journalists regarding the rumours of a summit with Putin. He responded: "There is a very good prospect that we will [meet]." This development unfolds as Trump dealt Russia two significant setbacks within hours earlier today, despite suggestions that he might be willing to engage with Putin as early as next week. The White House reaffirmed on Wednesday its commitment to imposing secondary sanctions on Moscow, with this Friday, August 8, marking the deadline set by Trump for Putin to cease hostilities in Ukraine. Washington had already issued a stark warning that it would severely impact the Russian economy if Moscow did not actively seek peace in Ukraine. Today, the White House doubled down on its commitment to implement regulations that will bar third parties from engaging in trade with entities under Russian sanctions—a policy set to take effect in a mere 48 hours, reports the Express. This firm stance was maintained despite President Trump's remarks that his special envoy Steve Witkoff's recent dialogue with Putin "went well". Taking to Truth Social this afternoon, President Trump posted: "My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Great progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!". Earlier in the day, President Trump had branded Russia as an "extraordinary threat" to US national security and foreign policy. He announced this as he enacted an executive order to slap an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports of Russian oil. President Trump clarified his position, stating: "I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil." The US administration is aiming to cut off a significant source of revenue for the Kremlin by targeting Russian oil sales, thereby crippling their ability to fund the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
