A Russian pilot shouted “this is for our guys” before detonating a grenade to evade capture by rebel fighters in Syria.

Major Roman Filipov ejected from his Sukhoi 25SM fighter jet with a parachute after it was shot down on Saturday while he was flying low over opposition-held Idlib in northwestern Syria.

It was the first Russian jet to be downed since Moscow intervened in the war in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in 2015.

After the jet was struck by a shoulder-launched anti-aircraft MANPAD missile, the 33-year-old pilot kept the plane in the air but was eventually forced to eject after one of the engines failed and flight controls became unresponsive.

Militants from al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) opened fire on him after his parachute opened, but he made it to the ground. According to a video circulating on social media on Monday, Major Filipov shot two fighters before detonating a grenade.