A rare video aired on Ukrainian television on Sunday allegedly showing a Russian pilot who had defected and encouraging other Russian soldiers to do the same. His dramatic escape allegedly took six months to plan, and was carried out in cooperation with Ukraine’s intelligence services. Whether the video is authentic remains unclear, but one thing is certain: Ukraine is doing everything it can to fuel Russian defections.
A Russian Mi-8 assault helicopter crossed the border into Ukraine on August 23 and landed at the Poltava Air Base in Kharkiv with three people on board: a pilot and two crew members. The latter two were reportedly killed shortly after landing as they were trying to run away.
