Ukrainian military shoot down a Russian Mi-8

The Ukrainian military have shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter in the Luhansk region.

The video footage was made public by the Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi.

According to the Colonel General, soldiers of the 25th Airborne Brigade shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter in the Luhansk region.

The video shows how Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance of the brigade spotted the crash site and the burning wreckage of the helicopter. No information is available about the casualties and the crew.

The exact location of the Russian Mi-8’s landing was detected (here) to the east of the village of Raihorodka, Luhansk region.

The helicopter crashed more than five kilometers from the line of contact, which was far beyond the maximum range of most MANPADS.

Such a distance may be due to the use of more powerful air defense systems or pilots’ attempts to move the damaged aircraft away from the front.

The purpose of the helicopter’s stay in the frontline area is still unknown. However, Russian army aviation periodically fires unguided missiles at Ukrainian positions.

To do this, the helicopters fly up to a distance of 2-3 kilometers to the target and launch rockets from a pitch up – a special maneuver when the aircraft pulls its nose and fires rockets in a parabola to increase their firing range.

This method of firing has low accuracy, but allows vulnerable equipment to avoid direct contact. At the same time, the accuracy is compensated by the large number of missiles fired.