An engagement of a Russian and Ukrainian Air Force jetfighters zooming at high speed in the low-altitude dogfight over the city of Kyiv as Russia goes into a full swing blitzkrieg.
The aerial encounter occurred several hours after Vladimir Putin announced an extraordinary military operation. He stated that the move to recognize Donbas and Lumansk to secede from Ukraine has been under attack from Kyiv's forces since 2014.
Command To Wade in the Two Loyalist Regions Triggers Offensive
At exactly 3 a.m. at UK time, President Putin commanded the start of a special operation in Ukraine on Thursday, reported the Express UK.
Next came a few minutes from the announcements, followed by a report that more than twelve were deadly volley of artillery and missile attacks. This is the moment when two planes were in deathly air combat. An observer close to Kyiv saw a Ukraine MiG-29 challenging the Russian Su-35 in the capital city.
According to Defense analyst Guy Plipsky, it looks like two UAF MiG-29s chasing each other, seen by the camera at tree height in the Kyiv area.
He added that the smoke is not caused by damage, but its RD-33 power plant is smokey most of the time.
Military historian Cedric Mas chimes in that it's an impressive and uncommon sight to see a very low aerial battle in Kyiv between Russian-made jets, except one is the more modern Su-35.
Both opposing forces were fighting it out and spread through the whole border. MTV noted tense combat in progress at Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, and a Kyiv military airport, and the presidential office noted this.
Seeing the Russian and Ukrainian Air Force jetfighter engaged in a low-altitude dogfight would be more frequent as the hostilities rage on.
Warning to Biden and Other World Leaders
People woke up to the sound of explosions before dawn and into the morning in Kyiv, where three million lived.
Normality slipped into disorder as sounds of shots fired, siren screaming; terrified residents were choking the way out of the city while fleeing in panic.
Putin's lightning assault was the tragic end to furious rounds of diplomatic overtures over several months by leaders of the West. Even the White House was surprised when the Russian leader saw them blink and bluff taken.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine was shaken and called the assault by Moscow treachery in the morning. Compared the stoic Russian leader to Nazi Germany in the Second World war.
Putin, in his address, told the US and NATO to keep out. Interfering with his forces will lead to dire consequences. It sent shivers to the West with the EU especially. Taking Ukraine is not his goal, and the bloodshed is due to the Ukrainian regime.
The assault would have encounters and blasts in other cities like Odesa and Kharkiv targeted by Putin's forces' offensive. The Ministry of Defense, at 12:30 p.m. reported that 80 strikes at chosen military targets were hit with precision.
Furthermore, Russian ground forces were pouring in three entry points, with annexed Crimea too, cited CNBC.
The UK and EU held emergency meetings, and the White House shell shocked by the speed of Putin's forces. They are getting shaken by the Kremlin's land, air, and sea assault.
A fight between a Russian and Ukrainian Air Force jetfighter daring a furious low-altitude dogfight; shows how committed Moscow is to get the upper hand from the start, while the UAF suffers from older equipment like the MiG-29.
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