Putin's supersonic warplane destroyed while flying over Black Sea in incredible footage

Russia attempted to recover the crew but failed to locate the pair of pilots after they were reportedly ejected from the craft.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Kyiv’s air defences for downing the Su-24M tactical bomber.

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Zelensky said: “Just today a Russian combat aircraft was shot down in the area of Snake Island in the Black Sea.

”The plane was planning on striking Odesa region. So the terrorists have lost another one.

”We will continue to make sure the terrorists have losses. We are strengthening our air defence system.”

Air force commander General Mykola Oleshchuk added: “It’s been a long time since we had a Russian Su plane in our inventory.”

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Footage of the incident showed a beaming missile hurtle towards the aircraft in the night.

It struck the warplane as debris and flames appeared to fall into the water.

The aircraft slowly descended to the water below.

The bright light eventually faded and disappeared.

Putin’s illegal invasion of the ex-Soviet state has been far more prolonged and attritional than many in the Kremlin had hoped.

A recent Ministry of Defence intelligence update suggested Russian troops were finally making some small advances.

In an update released on December 5, the MoD said: “Over recent weeks Russian forces have made creeping advances through the ruins of Marinka, a town in Donetsk Oblast.

“Russia now likely controls most of the built-up area.

“However, Ukrainian forces remain in control of pockets of territory on the western edge of the town.”

It added: “Russia’s renewed efforts against Marinka are part of Russia’s autumn offensive which is prioritising extending Russia’s control over the remaining parts of the Donetsk Oblast – highly likely still one of the Kremlin’s core war aims.”