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A downed Russian pilot dramatically shouted “this is for our guys” before blowing himself up with a grenade to avoid being captured by jihadists.
Major Roman Filipov had escaped from his stricken jet after it was hit by a portable surface-to-air missile system over Syria .
But as he parachuted to the ground rebels opened fire on him.
The 33-year-old pilot shot dead two rebels with his Stechkin hand gun as the jihadists closed in on him as he stayed in radio contact with his Khmeimim base from the ground.
But realising his situation was hopeless, he pulled the pin on his grenade to kill himself.
His last words caught on a rebel video were: “This is for our guys”.
Filipov, from Vladivostok, has been posthumously nominated for the Kremlin’s highest honour - the Hero of Russia, it was reported.