Zee Media Bureau
Kiev: In what could further aggravate the crisis, Ukraine accused Russia of downing one of its military jets on Thursday.
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine wrote on Twitter that an aircraft belonging to the Russia`s Armed Forces fired a rocket at Ukrainian military jet Su-25.
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
#Russia's Armed Forces aircraft has struck a rocket attack on #Ukraine's Su-25. Our aircraft is shot down with the pilot catapulted.
— NSDC of Ukraine (@NSDC_ua) July 17, 2014
The reported attack on Ukrainian military jet comes a day after the EU and the US bolstered sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.
Miffed with the harsh American sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that the measures would make the Russia-US ties hit a dead-end.
Also, a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry expressed Moscow`s outburst saying that Russia will retaliate and not tolerate the American `blackmail`.