Russian Su-25 Downed by Ukrainian Missile in Point-of-View Video

Ukraine's military has released a video showing the moment its forces downed a Russian Su-25 fighter jet over the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Monday.

The video, first released on Tuesday by the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, was posted by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, which wrote: "The 110th Mechanized Brigade released a video of the destruction of a russian Su-25 jet on June 10. Bravo, warriors!"

Russia's air force has suffered extensive casualties throughout the war in Ukraine, and Kyiv claimed to have downed a number of Soviet-era Russian Su-25s last month. Newsweek couldn't independently verify when or when the footage was filmed and reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email Tuesday.

The point-of-view video shows a target falling to the ground. The Russian pilot "had the audacity to fly into the area of ​​responsibility of our brigade," the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade said on Facebook.

"He didn't have much time to regret his foolish act - from the moment the rocket was launched to the moment it hit the [Su-25's] side," the brigade added. "'It seems that they only hire suicide bombers,' our boys joke."

In April, General Christopher Cavoli, the head of the U.S. European Command, told American lawmakers that Russia had lost around 10 percent of its aircraft fleet since President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Dutch open-source intelligence defense analysis website Oryx has visually confirmed that 106 Russian aircraft have been destroyed and 10 damaged since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Oryx has also visually confirmed that 86 Ukrainian aircraft have been destroyed since the beginning of the war, with three damaged and one captured.

Kyiv's military said in an update on Tuesday that Moscow had lost so far 359 aircraft in the war. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, which posts daily figures on Russia's troop and equipment losses, added that Russia has lost a total of 520,850 troops.

Russia's Ministry of Defense said in an update on Monday that its forces have so far destroyed 613 Ukrainian aircraft in the war.

Newsweek couldn't independently verify the figures, as both Russia and Ukraine rarely share information on the number of casualties or equipment losses they have sustained in the war.

The Russian Su-25 was downed over Ukraine's Donetsk region, which, together with the Luhansk region, comprises the Donbas area that faces constant shelling. The Kremlin has been pushing for the total capture of the regions since Russia's initial invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, and continues to make gains in these areas.

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