Ukraine's air force claims to have shot down Russian fighter jet in Donetsk region.

March 3,2023.

Ukraine's air force claims to have shot down Russian fighter jet in Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Friday it has shot down a Russian fighter jet in the eastern Donetsk region. Russian state media is also reporting the incident, without specifying the model or ownership of the plane.

The Ukrainian Air Force claimed in a post published on its official Telegram channel that a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber was shot down near the town of Yenakiieve, in the Donetsk Region. Yenakiieve is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the city of Donetsk, inside territory controlled by Russian forces.

CNN is unable to verify the Ukrainian Air Force's claims about the model or ownership of the jet.  

"A plane has been shot down over the city. Everyone should leave the streets. We are investigating the situation," the mayor of Yenakiieve, Roman Khramenkov, said Friday on his official Telegram channel. 

A photo posted by the mayor shows black smoke rising in the sky not too far from several buildings in the city and the city's streets. 

Later, Khramenkov said he had visited the site of the plane crash, together with representatives from the police and emergency services. He said the current thaw is preventing access to the crashed plane, according to RIA Novosti. 

"The plane has crashed, there is smoke, it is on fire. We could see two pilots who ejected on parachutes," the mayor told Russian television, according to RIA Novosti. 

“No one is hurt on the ground because the crash site is a farm. Its owner says the plane is in the fields, in woodland. We are relying on his information. No one in the village or in the city has been affected," Khramenkov said.

Source:CNN.