Russian and Ukraine war planes clash in skies above Ukraine A wounded man, injured during clashes between pro-Russian supporters and Ukrainian security forces, lies on a stretcher inside a tent at a pro-Russian protest camp near the Ukrainian town of Slaviansk June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich Pro-Russian separatists gesture as they stand atop a minaret at a Ukrainian police checkpoint in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich Pro-Russian separatists take position at a checkpoint in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich Pro-Russian separatists run from a helicopter during clashes in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich KRAMATORSK Ukraine Two Russian warplanes were shot down by Ukrainian forces at the weekend, marking the first time Kiev has confirmed its air force had used lethal force to counter Moscow's involvement in the conflict in the east of the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to intervene in March in support of Russian speakers in Ukraine's Crimea and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union has already plunged East-West relations into the chilliest period since the Cold War ended. Fierce fighting has continued despite a ceasefire agreement reached two months ago in the Belarussian capital of Minsk that is broadly holding, despite occasional violations, notably around the main rebel bastion of Donetsk. The latest fighting is the most intense in eastern Ukraine since the ceasefire took effect, with the heaviest losses of life since April's exchange of rocket fire between Ukrainian and separatist forces. It has drawn accusations from the West and Kiev that Russia is now fighting a separate war in the east. Moscow denies this and blames the Ukrainian government for failing to stop the uprising. The separatists say they are receiving the supplies and arms to defend themselves from a Ukrainian offensive, but they also say they are not seeking to break the ceasefire. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held talks with the top military brass on Sunday evening about the situation in the east and the cabinet said an anti-aircraft missile had shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet over the village of Krymske, near the rebel stronghold of Luhansk. "According to information at our disposal, the Russian military aircraft was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile. Our servicemen did not have time to return fire. The pilot has been killed," Poroshenko was quoted as saying on his website. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden also expressed concern about the Russian jet shot down, saying he was "deeply concerned" and that it looked like it had been downed by fire from a Ukrainian missile system. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by telephone with Poroshenko on Sunday and "expressed his concern over the renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine and his disappointment that there had not been greater progress in implementing the Minsk agreements," the State Department said in a statement. Russian news agencies quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying that Kiev had shot down the plane by mistake. Russia has repeatedly said Ukrainian officials were preparing to launch a new offensive to seize Donetsk, and it accuses Kiev of continuing its "criminal policy" in the east. 'FINISH WHAT WE STARTED' Both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Kiev accuses Russia of sending troops and heavy weapons across the frontier, while Moscow says Ukrainian forces have been firing in from across their own territory. Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said two more Ukrainian servicemen had been killed in clashes with separatists on Sunday, taking the Ukrainian loss in the fighting to 37 dead and 174 wounded since April 6. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the crash of the Russian jet as a "tragic tragedy", adding that Moscow was prepared to offer help to investigate the incident. "We're ready for practical assistance to all those who are interested and competent in that. We're ready to dispatch our specialists," Lavrov was quoted as telling France 24 television by his ministry's English-language website. Separatist authorities denied they were to blame. "Our enemy started today its merciless bombing of civilians and civilian objects," the separatist administration in Luhansk said in a statement. A Ukrainian military spokesman said rebel forces were shelling rebel positions from inside the city of Luhansk, which is almost encircled by Ukrainian government forces. Russian state television said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would call a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the crisis. Putin's intervention in Ukraine, his biggest decision since coming to power 14 years ago, triggered the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War. (Additional reporting by Alexander Reshetnikov, Alexei Anishchuk and Richard Balmforth in Moscow, Richard Lough and Anna Willard in London and Jason Bush in Moscow; Editing by Peter Graff and Andrew Roche) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and
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