Moment Putin fighter pilot cheats death as his own side opens fire on Su-25 jet with rocket launcher in shock near-miss
A RUSSIAN fighter pilot barely escaped death after a rocket launcher fired into the sky as an Su-25 warplane flew overhead.
Extraordinary footage captured the hair-raising moment the Putin fighter flew at a low altitude and was nearly struck - by his own side.
The 13-second clip showed one rocket launch from a small machine on the ground, followed by many others fired in quick succession.
Miraculously, the Su-25 managed to escape the relentless rockets and continue flying.
Pro-war telegram channel Two Majors said: "Our warriors are people of unbridled courage.
"They are in such a rush to hit the enemy, that they do not look at what is happening around them.
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"The footage is truly unique."
Some described the dramatic near-miss as an example of "Russian roulette".
Another comment suggested the officer who was in charge of the Grad multiple rocket launcher was now "probably either out of a job or in a jail cell".
It is unclear where exactly the plane - a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine Su-25 - was nearly hit in the Russia-Ukraine warzone.
The friendly fire incident is just the latest of many suffered by Russia of late, with the most recent known case that which killed 45-year-old Major-General Vladimir Zavadsky of Russia's 14th Army Corps.
Zavadsky was killed by one of his own landmines after being shot at with friendly mortar fire while driving a military vehicle captured from Ukrainians.
In September, one of Vladimir Putin's prized £82million fighter jets was reportedly blown out of the sky by his own troops.
The high-tech Su-35 was downed by a Russian S-300 air defence missile over the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, according to various pro-war Telegram channels.
Video appeared to show the moment the single-seat warjet exploded in the sky and burst into orange flames.
It was not immediately clear if the pilot was able to eject, but Russian aviation Z-blogger "Fighterbomber" indicated he did not survive - and also acknowledged the loss of a valuable plane.
He posted a photo of an Su-35 with the message: "Eternal flight, brother."
Earlier this year, a Russian fighter jet and a helicopter were spotted crashing as reports circulated that another two warplanes had also been downed.
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Footage showed an Su-34 jet and an Mi-8 chopper plummeting near a Russian town within two hours of each other.
It was claimed all four aircraft were brought down by friendly fire.
