Ukrainian soldiers shoot down Russian helicopter in shocking battlefield footage
Down in flames: President Zelensky’s forces blast Russian helicopter out of the sky in footage from Ukrainian front line
Shocking video appears to show a Russian helicopter shot down in UkraineIn the clip the aircraft can be seen flying low before it goes down in flames The footage has been widely shared online, but it’s unclear where it was taken
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This is the shocking moment a Russian helicopter appears to go down in flames as it is downed in Ukraine.
Footage from the frontlines seems to show the aircraft soaring before it is targeted by Ukrainian weapons.
In the clip, it can then be seen lighting up in flames as it pummels down, exploding in a fireball as it reaches the ground.
Footage shows a Russian helicopter as it appears to go down in flames as it is downed in Ukraine
The video has been widely shared on social media. Although it is unclear how the footage was captured, some on Twitter have suggested the clip was taken by a drone.
It is not clear when or where the video was filmed but investigative journalism group Bellingcat have geolocated the footage to have taken place in Kozarovychi in the Kyiv Oblast – around 25 miles from Kyiv.
The group has been focusing on verifying footage from the conflict since it began on February 24.
The video was also shared by Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko, and now has more than 21,000 likes.
It appears the original video was shared by a Kyiv resident on Facebook.
A translation of the caption, in Ukrainian, seems to say the country’s forces ‘shot down a Russian combat helicopter’ as ‘aerial reconnaissance shares an operational video’.
‘Glory to Ukraine!,’ he adds.
The video was also shared by Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponamorenko, and now has more than 10,700 likes
The aircraft can be seen lighting up in flames as it pummels down, exploding in a fireball as it reaches the ground
Users on social media have also speculated the helicopter is a Mil Mi-24 Hind gunship, which was in use by Soviet forces from 1972.
The model was often referred to as the ‘flying tank’ by Soviet pilots.
It was famously featured in Cold War-era flicks Rambo 2 and Rambo 3, although in both films, the aircrafts were Aérospatiale Pumas mocked-up to look like the real deal.
The UK has already shipped 2,000 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAW) to Ukraine, whilst the U.S., Germany, and Belgium are among other countries that have sent or are set to send weapons.
The west has supplied Ukraine with anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) as they continue to resist Russia’s invasion, according to defence media site Shephard.
Although it is unclear how the footage was captured, some on Twitter have suggested the clip was taken by a drone
A Mil Mi-24 helicopter near the village of Oktyabrsky, Belgorod Region, near the Russian-Ukrainian border last month
A file photo showing troops using a Stinger missile using Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADs) off the coast of Crete, Greece in November 2017
In January, the U.S. sent a plane loaded with 300 Javelin missiles worth some $50million to Kyiv.
A day after the invasion began on February 24 it was reported that Ukrainian forces claimed to have shot out of the air up to four Russian KA-52 Alligator attack helicopters during a battle for Gostomel air base.
A fifth helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at the field under heavy fire.
The Ukrainians had then also reported their MiG jets shot down at least one Mi-8 helicopter and their forces also claimed to have shot down six Russian jets sky over the eastern Donbass region while another plane appeared to fall from the skies near the capital.
