Ukraine accuses Russian jet of downing fighter plane in east

A Russian jet shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter plane that was on military operations over the east of Ukraine, where government forces are fighting to quell a pro-Russian separatist rebellion, the Ukrainian militarysaid.

It was the strongest Ukrainian allegation to date of direct Russian military involvement in the conflict. Russia's defence ministry declined to comment.

A rocket brought down the plane on Wednesday night and the pilot safely ejected, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's national Defence and Security Council, said. It was the third reported incident this week in which a Ukrainian plane has been hit by a missile.

Kiev has said that an An-26 military transporter was brought down last Monday probably by a missile fired from Russia, either from the air or from the ground. Two of the eight people onboard that plane were killed, the Ukrainian military said.

On Wednesday, another SU-25 was hit by a rebel missile but the pilot brought the plane down successfully with relatively slight damage. Kiev did not allege Russian involvement in that case.

After a day's pause, Ukrainian warplanes on Wednesday resumed flights in the east where they have been striking at rebels and military equipment Kiev says is being brought in from Russia to fortify rebel positions.