Ukraine says it shot down a Russian supersonic bomber over the war's bloodiest battlefield: video

• Ukraine's forces shot down a Russian Soviet-era bomber, officials said on Wednesday.
• Dramatic widely-shared footage shows the fiery aftermath and what appears to be an ejected pilot.

Ukrainian forces took down a Russian Su-24 supersonic bomber near Bakhmut, according to its officials.

Footage shared Wednesday by Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, showed a huge, flaming smoke plume and what appears to an ejected pilot floating to the ground.

Yarmik posted an edited version of the footage which magnified the parachute.

Later in the clip a number of missiles then appear to be shot from the pilot's landing location.

The shootdown was claimed by Ukraine's 93rd separate mechanized brigade, though it was not immediately clear when it took place, or exactly where it was located.

The brigade's spokesperson, Iryna Rybakova, described the downing of the Su-24 to Ukrainian broadcaster Hromadske.

The Su-24 is a Soviet-era bomber. If confirmed, the event would be the second recorded takedown of one during the war, per the weapons-tracking site Oryx. The site has however recorded multiple downings of the Su-24M, a modernized version of the craft.

As of Wednesday, 352 Russian aircraft had been documented by the site as having been destroyed, damaged or captured during the war.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the decision to continue to defend the beleaguered city of Bakhmut, according to advisor Tymofiy Mylovanov. The grinding battle has for months been the focal point of Russia's front line, with huge losses on both sides.