SHOT DOWN
Wreck of Russia’s newest £38m fighter jet burns with pilot kneeling beside it after Ukrainians blasted it out of the sky
UKRAINIAN forces have claimed to have downed another Russian fighter jet with the remnants seen burning in a field.
The Su-35S, Flanker-E fighter jet, which costs £38million, was brought down near the city of Izyum, in the Kharkiv region, according to local news outlet Nexta.
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MP Anton Gerashchenko said the pilot ejected and was caught as he tried to flee.
Ukraine's military has named the Russian pilot as Major Sergei Yermalov.
He reportedly serves in the 159th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment based at Besovets airfield in the Republic of Karelia, northwest Russia.
Ukrainian authorities say they have shot down two planes and one helicopter in the past 24 hours.
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The strike is yet another blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin as his military forces struggle to gain control of Ukraine and have been met with fierce opposition.
Ukrainian officials on March 18 said troops firing a shoulder-launched Stinger missile destroyed one SU-34.
The following week, officials in Kyiv claimed another alleged SU-34 was shot down to "mobile" air-defence units.
A Russian SU-25 jet was shot down over Kharkiv in early March, it’s been claimed.
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The plane transforms into a fireball as it plummets to the ground, much to the delight of Ukrainians watching below.
Oleg Synegubov, the regional governor of Kharkiv, said at the time his city's Air Defence Forces subdued the target with two surface-to-air missiles.
The aircraft can be seen erupting over Ukraine's second city as people cheer before crashing to the ground and exploding again upon impact.
It comes after it was claimed two Russian soldiers died after eating pies laced with poison that were given to them by Ukrainian citizens.
The soldiers, from the third Motor Rifle Division, are said to have died instantly after being given the delicacies as 'gifts' by locals in Izium.
Another 28 Russians were said to have been rushed to intensive care after the poisoning, with hundreds of others said to be suffering "severe illness" from poisoned food and drink.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence Intelligence wrote on Saturday: "Ukrainians resist the occupiers by all available means.
"According to available information, local residents of the Izium district (Kharkiv region) 'treated' Russians from the third Motorized Rifle Division of the Russian Federation with poisoned pies.
It comes as...
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"As a result, two occupiers died at once, another 28 were taken to the intensive care unit. Their current state is being clarified."
Izium is expected to see more combat in the coming weeks as it's understood Putin is regrouping his troops for battles in eastern Ukraine.
It comes as Ukraine said it had regained control of the Kyiv region, with Russian troops retreating from around the capital and Chernigiv city.
Ukrainian officials said on Saturday that their forces had taken back more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion.
"The whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader," Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Facebook.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian prosecutors investigating possible war crimes by Russia have found 410 bodies in towns near Kyiv and 140 of them had been examined, Prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova said on television on Sunday.
Russia denied allegations that its forces killed civilians in the town of Bucha near Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of committing genocide in his country, as Western leaders condemned images emerging of dead Ukrainian civilians in a town abandoned by Russian forces outside the capital, Kyiv.
"Indeed, this is genocide. The elimination of the whole nation and the people," Zelensky told CBS' "Face the Nation" news program, speaking through a translator.
"We are the citizens of Ukraine and we don't want to be subdued to the policy of the Russian Federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated."
Boris Johnson has condemned Russia's "despicable attacks" against Ukrainian civilians in Irpin and Bucha, adding that "we will not rest until justice is served".
The Prime Minister said "no denial or disinformation from the Kremlin" can conceal that President Vladimir Putin is "desperate" and "his invasion is failing".
In a statement, Mr Johnson said the UK is "stepping up" its sanctions and military support, and "bolstering" humanitarian help for those on the ground.
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He added: "The UK has been at the forefront of supporting the International Criminal Court's investigation into atrocities committed in Ukraine.
"The Justice Secretary has authorised additional financial support and the deployment of specialist investigators - we will not rest until justice is served."
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