Ukraine has allegedly shot down a Russian spy plane over the Azov sea while families of servicemen killed by Putin’s forces gathered for a remembrance service.
The Ukrainian military said it destroyed a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft on Friday and shared a map appearing to show it had crashed over southern Russia.
Shocking videos of flames bursting into the sky have been shared on social media following the crash, while another video shows civilians searching the wreckage.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app: ‘The A-50 with the call sign “Bayan” has flown its last!’
Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted military sources as saying the A-50 was downed over Russian territory, between the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar.
The Ukrainian military said it destroyed a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft (pictured) on Friday and shared a map appearing to show it had crashed over southern Russia
Videos on social media showed multiple flashes of light on a dark night sky
Shocking videos of flames bursting into the sky have been shared on social media following the crash in what appeared to be a rural area
It said the operation was carried out by the air force and the intelligence directorate.
It is second time in a little more than a month that Ukraine has reported downing the sophisticated spy plane.
The news of the crash comes as citizens and families of Ukrainian servicemen who were killed during the Russia-Ukraine war take part in a ceremony to honor their memory as it nears the second anniversary.
The ceremony is taking place at the Field of Mars at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her husband Bo Tengberg paid their respects along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
At the commemoration ceremony, crowds prayed for Ukrainian soldiers who died in the war over two years and lit candles on their graves.
Attendees also watched as ‘rays of remembrance’ were lit into the sky as a sign of respect.
A Ukrainian civic group said in November 2023 that it had confirmed the deaths of nearly 25,000 Ukrainian soldiers since the war began by using open source intelligence, but put the total toll at more than 30,000.
Citizens and families of Ukrainian servicemen who were killed during the Russia-Ukraine war take part in a ceremony at the Field of Mars at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her husband Bo Tengberg (entre) paid their respects along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left)
Around 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers are believed to have died during the war
Attendees also watched as ‘rays of remembrance’ were lit into the sky as a sign of respect
The fallen soldiers were honoured in the ceremony as candles were lain beside their pictures
At the commemoration ceremony, crowds prayed for Ukrainian soldiers who died in the war over two years and lit candles on their graves
Following the destruction of the A-50 spy plane, Moscow made no official comment, but authorities in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region said fire crews were at the scene of an air crash, without elaborating.
Russian news agencies said that fragments of an aircraft were found in marshland in Kanevskoy district and firefighters extinguished a blaze but made no reference to the A-50.
The Krasnodar regional authorities said firefighting units were responding to a blaze ‘of about 250 square metres’ and that no local houses were at risk.
It said ‘two aircraft’ had been involved in the incident, but did not specify what they were.
Neither MailOnline nor the AFP press agency have been able to immediately verify the nature of the crash or which aircraft was destroyed.
Videos on social media showed multiple flashes of light on a dark night sky, followed by another showing a large blaze in what appeared to be a rural area.
After the spy plane came down, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk (pictured) wrote on the Telegram messaging app: ‘The A-50 with the call sign “Bayan” has flown its last!’
One video on social media appeared to show civilians searching the wreckage
The Sea of Azov lies between Russia and Ukraine, but Moscow controls its entire coast
The A-50, which first came into service near the end of the Soviet era, is a large airborne early warning and control aircraft that can scan several hundred kilometres for enemy aircraft, ships and missiles.
This most recent destruction will come as a blow to the Kremlin as the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate told the Financial Times a month ago that Russia only had eight A-50s left at that time.
The A-50, worth £260 million, is a Russian equivalent to the AWACS (Airborne warning and control system) plane used by NATO.
Ukraine last claimed to have shot down an A-50 aircraft in January, also over the Azov Sea which lies between Russia and Ukraine.
It also claimed to have destroyed an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post in the Sea of Azov.
The Sea of Azov lies between Russia and Ukraine, but Moscow controls its entire coast after seizing large swathes of southeastern Ukraine during its invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Reports say the planes have been flying the same routes for months.
Commanders have been careful not to use the intelligence-gathering planes too close to the active war zone.
In an address in New York on the eve of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lord Cameron stressed that Ukraine’s fight is ‘the world’s fight’. It comes after the Foreign Secretary sparked a furious row with members of the US Congress when pleading with American politicians to approve new funds for Kyiv
Ukraine’s Azov National Guard Brigade engaged in combat during the ongoing war with Russia
Lord Cameron said rubbished Putin’s claims the war is a battle between brothers as so many lives have been ruined
The reports of the downed spy plane come as Lord Cameron visited the United Nations on Friday.
He said in a speech: ‘My first visit as Foreign Secretary was to Ukraine. I stood inside the wreckage of Odessa’s Cathedral. I saw brave Ukrainians kissing loved ones goodbye as they left to defend their homeland.
‘His (Putin’s) government claims this is a battle between brothers. What twisted form of brotherhood is this for which so many lives must be ruined?
‘How many ridiculous explanations have we now had for this invasion? Are they criminals or are they fellow Russians?
‘One minute Ukraine is an existential threat and the next we are told she doesn’t exist
‘The Russian military is being drained of its modern equipment. You are having to rely on poor-quality shells from Pyongyang and you sent a generation of Russian boys into the meatgrinder.
‘These sanctions are a reminder we won’t falter and will stand firm for Ukraine’s freedom.
‘We must not falter, we must stand firm.’
