Horror moment Ukrainian fighter jet explodes in fireball after being blasted by Russian ‘Axehead’ missile in dogfight

THIS was the horror moment a Ukrainian fighter jet exploded in a fireball after it was blasted by a Russian “Axehead” missile. 

Shocking footage appears to show a MiG-29 being stalked by a Su-35S fighter from Vladimir Putin’s air force, and hit with a long-distance Vympel R-37 air-to-air missile.

This is the exact moment the Ukrainian jet exploded in a fireballEast2West

The MiG-29 was reportedly stalked by a Russian Su-35S fighterEast2West

The aircraft plummeted in flames before crashing into the groundEast2West

The Ukrainian fighter explodes in a fireball and is then seen plummeting in flames to the ground leaving a trail of black smoke. 

Ukrainian pilot and dad of one Major Andrey Tkachenko, 33, callsign Tkach, from Lviv region, was killed. 

The dogfight and crash took place on Friday over Ukraine’s semi-occupied Donetsk region but the footage has only just emerged. 

Respected plane commander Tkachenko has been protecting Ukraine’s eastern flank since Putin’s initial invasion in 2014. 

Defence journalist Babak Taghvaee reported: “Unfortunately, the pilot of the MiG-29 of the Ukraine Air Force which was shot down by a Su-35S fighter jet of the Russian Air Force in Eastern Ukraine on March 8 has lost his life. 

“His name is Andriy Tkachenko. 

“His aircraft was downed by an R-37M long-range air-to-air missile.”

The R-37 is also known by its NATO reporting name AA-13 Axehead.

The plane’s loss was reported by the Russian defence ministry but was not initially acknowledged by Kyiv. 

It comes as Ukraine crafted an incredible new line of defence against Putin’s forces, complete with 42,000 concrete “dragon’s teeth” dotted along barbed wire-lined trenches.

Zelensky’s army is gearing up to take on Russia’s newest onslaught in the coming months, with a 600-mile wall of death made from anti-tank obstacles, underground bunkers and fortified trenches.

Running along the meat-grinder frontline are freshly dug trenches, concrete traps and underground command centres for Kyiv’s brave troops.

Stark images from the ground show rows and rows of sharp-edged pyramid structures puncturing the Ukrainian countryside in fighting hotbeds.

The dragon’s teeth anti-tank obstacles are designed to hold back waves of Russian tanks as they roll over Ukrainian land – something Vlad’s army used against Ukraine during their counteroffensive in 2023.

Defensive posts made of concrete are also being put up across huge distances to prevent the Russians from advancing.

Putin’s three-layer system of trenches, tank traps and strong points is being echoed in Ukraine’s new fortifications – and it could bolster them enough to hold their ground.

A Dnipro official said “strengthening the region’s defensive capability is one of the priority areas”, as they gear up for Mad Vlad’s next move.

Dnipro, in central Ukraine, ordered 42,000 dragon’s teeth and 14 sets of reinforced concrete structures for its defence efforts.

And in Zaporizhzhia a whopping £27million was set aside for the same efforts.

Stock picture shows the deadly R-37 missile, known by its NATO reporting name AA-13 AxeheadEast2West

Ukrainian pilot and dad of one, Major Andrey Tkachenko, was killedEast2West

Tkachenko, 33, callsign Tkach, was from the Lviv regionEast2West