Ukraine claims to have shot down second Russian A-50 spy jet

Ukraine says it shot down a Russian military spy plane called A-50. This is the second time they have made this claim in just over a month.

The plane got hit between two Russian cities, over 200km away from where the fighting is happening, according to military sources from Ukraine.

Emergency responders found pieces of a plane near Kanevskoy district and successfully extinguished a large fire.

Russia hasn’t said anything about the statement. This Saturday is the two-year anniversary of Russia starting a big invasion.

Mykola Oleshchuk, the leader of Ukraine’s Air Force, thanked his team and military intelligence for shooting down a plane on Friday. He also mentioned that the incident happened on an important Russian military holiday.

“Happy Defender of the Fatherland Day to all the soldiers,” he said on Telegram.

A video on the internet shows a plane getting shot down in the sky. There were big flames and a lot of dark smoke after the plane crashed.

Krasnodar’s emergency officials said a plane crashed near Trudovaya Armenia village, Kanevskoy district, and a fire was put out later. It didn’t give any more information.

At least one Russian military-related Telegram channel hinted that the plane may have been shot down by accident. Fighterbomber said: “We don’t know who shot it down right now. ”

Ukraine said they shot down an A-50 plane on January 14th.

The UK’s ministry of defence said Russia likely has six working A-50s in use.

The plane finds air defenses and helps Russian jets attack targets. It can cost a lot to make—hundreds of millions of dollars.

Ukraine has been having a hard time making progress against Russian soldiers in the southeast.

Last month, the Ukrainian army said that a plane called Il-22 control centre and another plane called A-50 were destroyed in an incident.