DONETSK, August 3 (RIA Novosti) – Independence supporters in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said Sunday they can confirm having downed a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter plane.
“It [plane] is lying between the towns of Yenakiyevo and Makiivka [Donetsk Region],” a spokesman for militia told RIA Novosti, adding that a search for the pilot is ongoing.
In this area in eastern Ukraine, an intensive fighting between militia and security troops is underway. Ukraine’s military is using aircraft against independence supporters.
The Su-25 (NATO reporting name Frogfoot) ground attack aircraft was shot down on August 2 but independence supporters could not confirm the fact and were able to find the downed plane only on Sunday.
Late last month, independence supporters shot down two Su-25 fighter planes, with one of them falling near Marinovka and the second one near Dmytrivka. Both pilots ejected.
Ukraine’s aircraft launched an airstrike on the outskirts of Makiivka and the southern areas of Donetsk on Saturday. A bomb hit a major power station in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk.
Military actions have been taking place in the southeast of Ukraine since mid-April, when Kiev authorities launched a special operation in a crackdown on independence supporters. The violence intensified after the Luhansk and Donetsk regions declared independence from Ukraine in May.
Russia has repeatedly condemned Kiev’s actions and urged for a peaceful dialogue with representatives of Ukraine’s southeastern regions.
