Ukrainian forces have posted photos online of a downed Russian fighter jet burning in a field after they claim it was shot out of the sky amid Vladimir Putin’s deadly invasion.
The Russian state-of-the-art Su-35 fighter was shot down by Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian armed forces said Sunday.
The photos showed the obliterated wreckage engulfed in flames and smoke in the empty field.
“It’s not even a Su-35 plane is on fire, it’s the whole Russian empire,” the Ukrainian Air Force Command wrote in a Facebook post.
Ukrainian forces claim to have destroyed nearly 150 Russian aircraft since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion in February.
They also claim that 18,000 Russian soldiers have been killed by Ukrainian troops.
The Russian Su-35 fighter was shot down by Ukrainian forces near Kharkiv. General Staff of the Armed Force/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian forces claim to have destroyed nearly 150 Russian aircraft since the start of the Russian invasion. General Staff of the Armed Force/AFP via Getty Images
“It’s not even a Su-35 plane is on fire, it’s the whole Russian empire,” the Ukrainian Air Force Command said. General Staff of the Armed Force/AFP via Getty ImagesMoscow, which insists the invasion is a “special operation,” has not confirmed Ukraine’s latest figures detailing its losses.
The photos emerged before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared in a video that aired at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night in which he urged viewers to support his country “in any way you can.”
He likened Russia’s attack to a deadly silence threatening to extinguish the dreams and lives of the Ukrainian people, including children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky likened Russia’s attack to a deadly silence threatening to extinguish the dreams and lives of the Ukrainian people. Daniel Ceng Shou-Yi/ZUMA Press Wire
Soldiers walk past destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha. Rodrigo Abd/AP
Bodies lie in a mass grave outside Kyiv. Rodrigo Abd/AP