Reports of a Ukrainian attack aircraft of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) forces allegedly being downed by members of illegal armed groups are untrue, ATO spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky has said.

"Two MANPAD missiles were launched at Su-25 and An-26 aircraft. In the first case, the Su-25 escaped the rocket, whereas in the second the missile self-destructed. All aircraft landed without damage in the designated areas," he told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday evening.

He added that the incident had occurred in the Luhansk region.

Earlier it was reported that eyewitnesses saw a Ukrainian attack aircraft being downed between the towns of Chasiv Yar and Artemivsk.