A Ukrainian security spokesman has accused Russia’s air force of shooting down one of its jets while it was on a mission over Ukrainian territory.
Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council, said an Su-25 ground attack plane was downed on Wednesday evening.
Amateur video posted on Wednesday is said to show a plane being hit over Ukraine’s eastern region of Luhansk.
The rebels say they shot down two Su-25 jets on Wednesday.
They were downed during fighting at the Marinivka border crossing, according to rebel commander Igor “Strelkov” Girkin.
So far there has been no comment from the Russian government on the latest incident, the BBC’s Daniel Sandford reports from Moscow.
But there have been a number of allegations this week of more direct Russian involvement in the conflict
The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of shooting down a transport plane earlier this week.
In addition, pro-Kiev activists have pointed to videos which appear to show Grad multiple rocket launchers being fired from Russian soil in the direction of Ukraine.
Nato says that Russian troop numbers on the border have increased again to about 12,000.
Lysenko said the Su-25 had been hit at about 19:00 (16:00 GMT). Its pilot managed to eject and was rescued by Ukrainian forces, he said.
Ukraine’s defence ministry, quoted by the Associated Press news agency, said a second jet was hit by a portable surface-to-air missile, but that pilot was also unscathed and managed to land his plane safely.
The An-26 transport plane was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine on Monday, with the loss or reported capture of its crew members.
Ukrainian officials sought to argue that pro-Russian separatist rebels could not have downed the plane because they lacked missiles to hit it at high altitude.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denounced a new round of US sanctions against his country, saying they will damage relations and hurt businesses from both countries.
The president said that the sanctions were driving bilateral relations into a “dead end”.
Both the US and EU have bolstered sanctions against Russia over its perceived support for separatists in Ukraine.
As shares in Russian interests hit by the sanctions fell sharply, markets also fell by more than 2.5 per cent.
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