War in the air: Ukrainians cheer as they shoot down two Russian aircraft and destroy helicopter near Kyiv as president Zelensky berates Nato over lack of no-fly zone
- Shocking videos shared on social media today appeared to show Russian aircraft being shot down in Ukraine
- People sharing the battleground footage say the clips were taken in the the Chernihiv and Mykolaiv oblasts
- This comes as Volodymyr Zelensky accuses the West of cowardice and berates NATO over lack of no-fly zone
- Follow the latest updates on the Ukraine war by following MailOnline's liveblog here
Shocking battlefield footage from today shows Ukrainians cheer and applaud as they appear to shoot down two Russian aircraft in the Chernihiv and Mykolaiv oblasts as forces were also earlier said to down a Russian helicopter near Kyiv.
This comes as Volodymyr Zelensky in an address this morning urged Ukrainians to continue fighting Putin's forces.
The comic-turned-wartime president then thundered 'what more is needed' to convince Joe Biden to enforce a no-fly zone – an action which could widen the war and suck in NATO – after he accused the West of cowardice in the face of Russian aggression.
Video from the frontlines, shared on social media, showed clips of an aircraft dropping rapidly from the air as cheers form Ukrainians could be heard in the background.
Those who shared the content online say the incident was filmed in Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine.
Video from the frontlines, shared on social media, showed clips of an aircraft dropping rapidly from the air as cheers form Ukrainians could be heard in the background
Further video then shows two pilots parachuting as they flee the aircraft; photos and clips shared on Twitter claim one of the pilots survived while the second died.
More footage then showed the captured Russian pilot, bloodied from his escape, being questioned by Ukrainian forces as they demanded to know his name and orders.
In another video soldiers can be seen filming with the captured pilot as they get him to say 'glory to Ukraine'. They can be heard asking 'why were you bombing people' as the man numbly replies that he was ordered to.
They then say, 'you didn't know anything?', to which he replied that he didn't, prompting the soldiers to say 'that's your (Russian soldiers') favourite phrase'.
Ukrainian soldiers could then be seen calling someone on the pilot's phone, seemingly saved under a pet name, with graphic threats of what they will do to him.
Another photo shared on Twitter appears to show a man, understood to be the captured pilot in the videos, stood next to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
It is understood that the aircraft which was shot down is a Sukhoi Su-34; a fighter-bomber which had also been used in Syria.
A second Russian aircraft was also captured going down in the country's Mykolaiv oblast; another video on Telegram seems to suggest the pilot was captured as a man was filmed being questioned.
A third video from this morning also seems to show an aircraft soaring before it is targeted by Ukrainian weapons.
In the clip, it can then be seen lighting up in flames as it pummels down, exploding in a fireball as it reaches the ground.
A second Russian aircraft was also captured going down in the country's Mykolaiv oblast; a second video on Telegram seems to suggest the pilot was captured
Footage shows a Russian helicopter as it appears to go down in flames as it is downed in Ukraine
The footage shows the helicopter flying low over a field as the Ukrainian weapon targets it, in a viral video shared on social media
The video shows the helicopter being hit as it goes up in flames, beginning to go lower and lower down
The video has been widely shared on social media. Although it is unclear how the footage was captured, some on Twitter have suggested the clip was taken by a drone.
It is not clear when or where the video was filmed but investigative journalism group Bellingcat have geolocated the footage to have taken place in Kozarovychi in the Kyiv Oblast - around 25 miles from Kyiv.
The group has been focusing on verifying footage from the conflict since it began on February 24.
The video was also shared by Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko, and now has more than 39,300 likes.
It appears the original video was shared by a Kyiv resident on Facebook.
A translation of the caption, in Ukrainian, seems to say the country's forces 'shot down a Russian combat helicopter' as 'aerial reconnaissance shares an operational video'.
'Glory to Ukraine!,' he adds.
It is not clear when or where the video was filmed but investigative journalism group Bellingcat have geolocated the footage to have taken place in Kozarovychi in the Kyiv Oblast - around 25 miles from Kyiv
The aircraft can be seen lighting up in flames as it pummels down, exploding in a fireball as it reaches the ground
Footage from the frontlines seems to show the aircraft soaring before it is targeted by Ukrainian weapons and going down in a field
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Users on social media have also speculated the helicopter is a Mil Mi-24 Hind gunship, which was in use by Soviet forces from 1972.
The model was often referred to as the 'flying tank' by Soviet pilots.
It was famously featured in Cold War-era flicks Rambo 2 and Rambo 3, although in both films, the aircrafts were Aérospatiale Pumas mocked-up to look like the real deal.
The UK has already shipped 2,000 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAW) to Ukraine, whilst the U.S., Germany, and Belgium are among other countries that have sent or are set to send weapons.
The west has supplied Ukraine with anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) as they continue to resist Russia's invasion, according to defence media site Shephard.
In the clip, the helicopter can then be seen lighting up in flames as it pummels down, exploding in a fireball as it reaches the ground
Although it is unclear how the footage was captured, some on Twitter have suggested the clip was taken by a drone
A Mil Mi-24 helicopter near the village of Oktyabrsky, Belgorod Region, near the Russian-Ukrainian border last month
A file photo showing troops using a Stinger missile using Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADs) off the coast of Crete, Greece in November 2017
In January, the U.S. sent a plane loaded with 300 Javelin missiles worth some $50million to Kyiv.
A day after the invasion began on February 24 it was reported that Ukrainian forces claimed to have shot out of the air up to four Russian KA-52 Alligator attack helicopters during a battle for Gostomel air base.
A fifth helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at the field under heavy fire.
The Ukrainians had then also reported their MiG jets shot down at least one Mi-8 helicopter and their forces also claimed to have shot down six Russian jets sky over the eastern Donbass region while another plane appeared to fall from the skies near the capital.
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