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Video footage has captured a Russian Su-34 bomber smashing into an apartment block in Russia killing 15 people.
It was taking off from an airfield in the southern town of Yeysk near the border with Ukraine on Monday evening when it plunged from the sky in flames.
The pilots miraculously managed to survive the explosion and one can be seen on the ground nearby still attached to a parachute.
Three people died after trying to escape from the burning building.
Another 19 were taken to hospital where one died from severe burns.
The low-flying plane is believed to have been heading towards Ukraine on a mission, but Russia says it was on a training mission.
The warplane reportedly had ammunition on board when it crashed and exploded into the apartment block.
The aircraft has been widely used by Russia throughout the war in Ukraine and also in Syria.
The crashed aircraft left a trail of devastation in its path (Picture: Reuters)
One of the pilots is seen flying in a parachute towards the top right
The crash is yet another humiliating blow for Putin who has suffered 10 non-combat crashes since the start of the war.
Russia has failed to destroy Ukraine’s much smaller military unit and are now operating behind Russian lines after failing to take out Kyiv’s air defences.
Just yesterday, Ukraine was battered by Iranian-made kamikaze drones launched by Russia attacked Kyiv in the morning.
Around five explosions rocked the capital on Monday morning at 3.30am as Ukrainian armed forces resorted to firing machine guns in an attempt to bring them down.
Russian Emergencies personnel had to remove the wreckage (Picture: Getty Images)
Wreckage from the aircraft collided with the apartment building (Picture: Getty Images)
The death toll from the crash has now climbed to 15 (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced martial law is being introduced in four regions of Ukraine he illegally annexed.
It covers Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south-east of the country.
In a televised address to the nation Putin said: ‘Now we need to formalize this regime within the framework of Russian legislation.
‘Therefore, I signed a decree on the introduction of martial law in these four subjects of the Russian Federation.’
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Both the pilots miraculously escaped alive.