Moment daredevil Ukrainian fighter pilot destroys Russian drones in fireball attack

Rarely-seen cockpit footage captures the moment a Ukrainian pilot brings down two Russian drones in the skies over Ukraine.

The footage, reportedly taken from inside a Ukrainian MiG aircraft, shows the plane open fire on the two Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones.

Two fireballs light up the night sky as the air-to-air missiles hit their targets, completely destroying them.

It is unclear where and when the footage was filmed.

The Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones - which reportedly cost around £17,800 each to manufacture - have been in use against Ukraine since the start of the full Russian invasion of its smaller neighbour in February 2022.

Russia has continued to pound Ukrainian towns and cities with drones and missiles in recent weeks - as it seeks to disrupt the nation's infrastructure ahead of winter.

in the latest strikes this weekend, two civilians were killed and four others, including two children, injured in a night-time Russian air strike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported.

In the Kharkiv region further east, overnight shelling killed two elderly women, according to local governor Oleh Syniehubov.

During the night, Ukrainian air defences shot down one of four cruise missiles and 15 of 23 Shahed drones launched by Russia, Ukraine’s air force reported.

Elsewhere, Romania - a NATO member state - launched fighters after a Russian drone strayed into its territory.

Romanian emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions.

Preliminary data indicates there may be an “impact zone” in an uninhabited area near the Romanian village of Periprava, the Romanian Ministry of Defence said. It added that an investigation is under way.