Moment a Russian warplane explodes in huge fireball over Donetsk

This is the shocking moment when a downed Russian fighter jet exploded in a massive fireball over Ukraine’s disputed Donetsk region today.

The Su-25 Grach jet was reportedly hit by Ukrainian airborne troops who attacked the low-flying close air support aircraft with a man-portable air defense weapon (MANPAD).

The clip misses the moment the plane is hit by the missile, but the white smoke from the stricken plane can be seen streaking through the air toward the crash site as another fighter jet flies by.

Moments later, the wreckage ignites and erupts in a huge fireball.

The wreckage ignited in a huge fireball that towered over fields outside the town of Marinka in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.

White smoke moves through the air to the crash site as the fireball subsides

The Su-25 Grach jet (file photo) was reportedly hit by Ukrainian airborne forces targeting the low-flying close air support aircraft

According to multiple pro-Russian Telegram broadcasters, the Russian pilot managed to eject before his plane crashed into the turf in the countryside on the outskirts of the town of Marinka.

The commentators refused to acknowledge that the Moscow plane had been hit by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft weapon, stating simply that “the causes of the crash are under investigation.”

“Lately, the Ukrainians have had nothing to do with the downing of our planes.”

The pilot is said to have escaped and been taken to safety by Russian troops, who still occupied much of the land around Marinka despite bloody battles raging miles away in and around the towns of Bakhmut and Vuhledar.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal plans to visit Canada to source munitions and armored vehicles to launch a counter-offensive against invading Russian forces, the Globe and Mail reported Friday.

Shmyhal said in an interview with Canada’s newspaper that he was not concerned about the lack of new military aid for Ukraine in Canada’s federal budget, and hoped the country would provide more aid in addition to other forms of aid.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal attends a press conference in Ukraine, in Kiev, Ukraine, March 3, 2023

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stand on one of the first Leopard 2 tanks delivered from Poland

“Now we need heavy armored vehicles. And we need more artillery shells: howitzer ammunition and tank ammunition,” Shmyhal said. “It is crucial to the organization of our counter-offensive.”

Ukraine is expected to launch a counter-offensive in the coming weeks or months to retake land in the south and east of the country from Russian forces.

Shmyhal will be visiting Canada in the coming weeks, according to the Globe and Mail, adding that the Kyiv government did not reveal the date of the trip for security reasons.

The Ukrainian prime minister was quoted by the Globe as saying that Ukraine would also like Canada to offer war risk insurance to Canadian companies investing in Ukraine to support reconstruction and foreign investment.

“So if a Canadian company decides to invest money in Ukraine, we will ask the Canadian government to create a mechanism to support Canadian investments,” he said.

Ukraine is running an unprecedented budget deficit this year due to explosive military spending to fend off the Russian invasion and is heavily dependent on foreign financial aid.