Ukrainian Fighter Jet Shot Down By Rebels

Pro-Russian separatists have shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet in the Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine, a military spokesman said.

The pilot ejected from the MiG-29 plane and has been found after a search, spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky said.

Mr Dmytrashkivsky said the plane was shot after launching an attack on rebels.

The shooting of the plane came after Kiev and Moscow reached agreement on the passage of a Russian aid convoy into eastern Ukraine.

There are reports that 16 of the aid trucks left the parking lot in western Russia where the convoy has been waiting and headed for the Ukrainian border.

Ukraine had been concerned the convoy of 280 white trucks could be a ‘Trojan horse’, allowing Russia to set up a permanent presence in rebel-held territory.

But Russia “guaranteed” the US that no military personnel were in the vehicles, which have been stuck near the border for the past few days.

Moscow says the trucks are carrying water, food and medicine for people displaced by fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Red Cross officials have been examining the contents of the lorries.

They say they need security guarantees from both sides before the convoy can start moving across the border.

Fighting in Ukraine has escalated since the insurgency arose in April, with government troops steadily taking back rebel-held territory in the east.

The city of Luhansk, where the plane was shot down, is surrounded by Ukrainian forces.

The city is reportedly suffering from severe electrical outages and shortages of food and medicine.

Donetsk, the largest rebel-held city, is also suffering through fighting including frequent shelling.

source: skynews

Tags: Politics, Shot down by Rebels, Ukrainian Fighter jet

Share it.