DRAMATIC footage captured the moment a Russian fighter jet was shot out of the sky by a US-made Stinger missile.

The Su-30 fighter jet was seen flying above the countryside in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine before it smashed into a field in a massive fireball after being wiped out by the missile.

The video shows flames pouring out of the plane before it plummets to the ground and explodes into a blazing inferno.

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's defence minister, who shared the footage, hailed the troops who took out the aircraft as "heroes".

He said: "Stinger o’clock. In November of last year in Washington, to my request to provide Stingers to Ukraine, I was told: 'It's impossible'.

"But already in January, with the consent of the USA, we received the first batch of MANPADS (man-portable air defence system) from our friends – Lithuania.

Read more on the Ukraine war

More than 2,000 detained as Putin’s conscription forces Russians to FLEE

US warns Putin of ‘catastrophic action’ if he carries out threat to use nukes

"Today, our heroes destroy the invaders with them."

Reznikov said the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade was responsible for the "expert work to destroy an enemy".

"What seems impossible to you is possible… we believe in our victory," he said.

Ukrainian soldiers have been using US-made Stinger missiles provided by Latvia in their fightback against Putin's troops.

Most read in News

They were used to defeat Russian forces who occupied Afghanistan.

The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security said: "This is how Stinger helps Ukrainian heroes destroy the enemy.

"Just look at how the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Ivan Sirko expertly destroy an enemy Su-30 in Kharkiv region."

It's not the first time Stinger missiles have been used by Ukrainian forces to wipe out Putin's troops since he invaded the country in February.

Russian air force general Kanamat Botashev was killed in May after his Su-25 fighter jet was shot down using a Stinger missile.

And chilling footage shared in June captured the moment a low-lying Russian helicopter was hit by a missile before crashing into a field in Ukraine in a blazing inferno.

The Russian aircraft, reportedly a Mi-35M attack helicopter, was shot down while flying extremely close to the ground by a MANPADS.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had received air defence missiles from the US, designed to defend against unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, planes, and helicopters.

He vowed to liberate the entire country from Russian forces and promised to retaliate against "every strike of the aggressor".

The president said his troops would recapture the southern Kherson region and eastern Donbas, adding: "Every murderer and torturer will be brought to justice."

It comes after a Russian "Kamikaze drone" crashed into a building in a huge fireball as the new weapon was unleashed for the first time.

At least three of the Iran-made drones struck a building believed to house Ukraine's southern command HQ in Odessa over the weekend.

The footage appeared to show a Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drone loitering above a building in the port city before plunging into it, creating a massive fireball in its wake.

Moments later giant plumes of smoke can be seen billowing out of the destroyed building.

Read More on The Sun

I’m a nutritionist – here’s 13 supplements to help you get better sleep

Woman shares £7.99 bargain that will help her keep her electricity bills down

Russia claimed it hit the offices of Ukraine's operation command of the southern front, which is fighting a bloody battle to recapture the city of Kherson.

Ukraine said there were no casualties as a result of the strike.

Source: Read Full Article