This is the moment Ukrainian soldiers reportedly shoot down a massive Russian helicopter gunship.
The Russian helicopter, reportedly a Mil Mi-24, comes crashing down in a field in a ball of flames.
The images were obtained from the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, along with a short statement saying: “In the Donetsk region, fighters of territorial defense of Ukraine brought down the Russian military Mi-35M helicopter.”
We contacted Russian and Ukrainian officials for comment but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation” to “liberate the Donbas.” June 17 marks the 114th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and June 16, Russia had lost about 32,950 personnel, 1,449 tanks, 3,545 armored fighting vehicles, 729 artillery pieces, 233 multiple launch rocket systems, 97 air defense systems, 213 warplanes, 179 helicopters, 591 tactical drones, 129 cruise missiles, 13 warships, 2,494 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 55 pieces of special equipment.
Washington has told China it risks ending up on the “wrong side of history” following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s assurances given to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Beijing supports Russian “sovereignty.”
Thousands of civilians remain trapped in the key eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, where the water supply is reported to be dwindling. Hundreds of civilians are taking shelter in the bunkers beneath the city’s Azot chemical plant.
Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai said earlier this week that all three bridges into Sievierodonetsk had been destroyed, making delivering supplies and evacuating civilians impossible.
President Joe Biden has promised Kyiv another one billion dollars in security assistance and weapons. And General Mark Milley, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says Russia has lost around 20 to 30 percent of its armored forces during the ongoing invasion.
Former Russian president and staunch Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev derided French, German and Italian leaders for their visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as “fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, June 16.
On June 8, the European Parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 members of the European Parliaments voted in favor of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
