Russian television is reporting an unidentified object skimmed a Ukrainian fighter jet moments before it crashed into a crowd of aviation enthusiasts killing 84 people last weekend.

The object, which was not discernible from television images, could only be seen when footage of the disaster was slowed down.

Pictures broadcast show it was clearly not a bird.

The low-flying Russian-made Sukhoi Su 27 crashed into a crowd of spectators in Lviv, western Ukraine last Saturday in the world's worst airshow disaster.

The dead included 23 children. Around 200 people were injured.

President Leonid Kuchma's administration immediately held the military responsible, arresting the air force chief and three other senior officials.

The defence chief was subsequently sacked.

The pilots have been accused of diverting from their flight plan, while a commission of inquiry has yet to provide an explanation for the crash.

Prosecutors have hinted they could press criminal charges for negligence.

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