THIS is the dramatic moment a wing falls off a £15 million Russian warplane during a frontline mission over Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

The pilot miraculously cheated death by ejecting before the Su-25 aircraft came tumbling to the ground. 

In the shocking video, the doomed warplane is seen spiralling out of control as it plummets from the sky over the Ukrainian city of Soledar.

The Russian aircraft’s right wing appears to have detached.

Flames engulf the warplane as it falls to the ground, crashing into a field.

A fighter pilot is visible descending under a parachute, having ejected moments.

It was initially assumed the Su-25 had been shot down.

Ukrainian media claimed the aircraft may have been downed by “friendly fire” – an unguided missile from its partner plane.

Others suggested the cause may have been heat trap flares and possible missiles from the Su-25.

However, the lack of a significant explosion—usually anticipated from a direct missile hit—has led experts from both sides to suggest an alternative hypothesis.

The Russian Su-25 fleet, outdated with each plane averaging over four decades old, has suffered numerous technical issues in the past, as the Kyiv Post has reported.

The pilot was reportedly rescued by Russian forces on the ground while under fire from Ukrainian drones.  

An Mi-8 helicopter arrived at the crash site and evacuated him.

Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber cited “destruction of the wing” as the cause of the crash.

“The pilot is in the hospital with a broken arm,” the channel wrote.

It added: “A commission will investigate what went wrong and determine who is to blame.”

The apparent “missiles” might actually be unignited heat trap flares, intended to divert heat-seeking missiles away from the aircraft’s engines, as per some sources.

Ukraine has not made an official statement about the incident.

Ukrainian Militarniy media outlet ruled out the possibilities of friendly fire and an exploding missile.

The channel said: “The third possible reason is a defect in the aircraft’s power structure that arose due to prolonged intensive use of the aircraft in combat operations or a manufacturing defect.

“This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the wing broke off at the moment of the turn, when it is subjected to the greatest loads. 

“Another indirect confirmation may be that the operation of Russian attack aircraft, whose average age reaches 40 years, is associated with a significant number of emergency situations.”

Ukrainian war analyst Yury Butusov backed this theory, saying: “At first it seems that it was shot down by its own pilot, the pilot of another aircraft. 

“However, when viewed in slow motion, one can conclude that the Su-25’s wing failed due to excessive overload and exhaustion of the attack aircraft’s resources.”

The Su-25 is a Soviet, twin-engine, single-seat aircraft developed by Sukhoi in the late 1970s.