Kiev, Aug 4 (IANS): Pro-Russian rebels of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet, officials said.
The jet was was found Sunday between the towns of Yenakiyevo and Makiivka in Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Xinhua reported.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the search for the pilot is still on.
Ukraine's National Defence and Security Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said that two Su-25 jets of the Ukrainian Air Force were shot down in eastern Donetsk region July 24, by missiles fired from the Russian territory.
The claims were dismissed by the Russian defence ministry as "nonsense".
Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine between rebels and the Ukrainian Army which has added to the difficulties of the observers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor checkpoints on Russian-Ukrainian border.
Earlier Sunday, Russia's Gukovo checkpoint was shelled from the Ukrainian territory and brought observers working there under mortar fire.