Another £300m Putin A-50 spy plane ‘downed by friendly fire’ over Black Sea as shock videos show fireball

A BURNING Vladimir Putin spy plane has fallen from the sky over an inland sea near Ukraine and Russia.

Shocking footage showed the Russian A-50 plane flying out of the sky and falling into pieces – reportedly downed by friendly fire.

A burning Putin 'spy plane' appears to fall from the sky — A burning Putin ‘spy plane’ appears to fall from the skyCredit: X/@IntelCrab

Flames and smoke rise from the ground after the crashCredit: X/@Maks_NAFO_FELLA

It is the second Russian A-50 spy plane to be shot down since Putin invaded UkraineCredit: EAST2WEST

Russian sources reported that the Beriev A-50 “Mainstay” was shot down in mid-air by friendly fire over the Sea of Azoz, an inland sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea.

The sea, currently under Russian occupation, is bordered by Russia in the east and along Ukraine on the northwest and southwest.

One video showed a plane emitting light as it flew through the sky sky before exploding in a fireball.

The same video then cut to a shot of flames roaring from the ground and plumes of dark smoke filling the air.

Another clip from the aftermath of the crash showed a bright orange glow near the silhouette of a barn or house.

An A-50, which typically flies with a crew of 15, reportedly costs more than $330 million to produce.

Today was the second time since then that a Russian A-50 was shot down Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, with in January another A-50 was shot down over the Sea of Azoz.

The first A-50 spy plane is said to have been shot out of the sky by the air force Ukrainian Armed Forces using a secret NATO “miracle weapon”.

An IL-22M bomber, worth around £28 million, was also hit but managed to return to Anapa airport with a number of casualties.

The Russian Telegram channel Military Informant suggested an unnamed ‘miracle weapon’ of NATO were used in the attack, as pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergey Markov spoke of “the use of a new type of weapon by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

Russians fear secret NATO ‘miracle weapon’ is behind Ukraine downing TWO Putin spy planes worth £290 million over the Sea of Azov

The Ukrainian commander-in-chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, later insisted that his forces had destroyed both the A-50 and the IL-22.

The loss of an A-50 spy plane is especially important for the Russians.

According to British intelligence, the Mainstay is “a key enabler for Russian operations over Ukraine, providing airborne early warning of threats and command and control functionality.”

Although Russia claimed friendly fire was the cause of the latest crash, there was speculation that a technical fault may have contributed to the crash.