Russian forces continued their invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, and suffered some cost as Ukraine fought back. Several videos taken near Hostomel, a town north of the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, show what appear to be multiple Russian attack and transport helicopters being targeted with missiles and shot down.
Babak Taghvaee, a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Iranian language branch tweeted video showing burning aircraft falling from the sky. Taghvaee said the aircraft were Russian helicopters and said three Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters and a Mi-8 transport helicopter had been shot down by Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jets and Stinger missiles supplied to the Ukrainian Army.
Taghvaee said the second video showed the wreckage of one of the Ka-52 attack helicopters that had fallen into a lake north of Kyiv and its crew parachuting out over the water.
Another video appeared to show a swarm of Russian helicopters flying over what may be the same lake and frequently deploying radar and missile countermeasures known as “chaff,” likely to avoid being targeted by Ukrainian defenses.
Middle East Eye reporter Ragip Soylu shared yet another video of Russian helicopters deploying missile countermeasures. Soylu said the footage was released by Russian media.
Soylu said Ukrainian military officials reported they had shot down at least three Russian helicopters, while Russian media outlets have claimed only one helicopter lost.
Another video showed a Russian helicopter reportedly being shot down over a field in Hostomel.
A still shot shared from the Ukrainian side purported to show the wreckage of another Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter in the field near Hostomel.
Another video appears to show the same Ka-52 helicopter downed in the field. One of the helicopter pilots had reportedly been taken prisoner. The footage appears to confirm at least two Russian helicopters have been downed by Ukrainian defenses.
Another video showed the swarms of Russian helicopters flying towards Hostomel, with thick plumes of black smoke rising in the distance.
The Russian helicopters were reportedly taking part in a large-scale air assault of the Antonov International Airport, which is a major airport for cargo shipments and sits just 15 minutes west of Kyiv’s capital ring road.
