Ukraine blasts Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter out of the skyBy Chris Jewers and Will Stewart
18 August 2023
This is the incredible moment Ukraine 's armed forces blasted a Russian attack helicopter out of the sky, sending it crashing to the ground. In the latest humiliation for Vladimir Putin and his generals, a video taken from the ground shows the Russian Ka-52 Alligator being shot down over the battlefield near Robotyne, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. A second, not seen in the clip, was also reportedly shot down in the same region. The dramatic war footage shows the Ka-52 flying with another helicopter over the region, when without warning it erupts into a ball of black smoke. The damage appears so severe that the chopper makes no attempt to stay in the air, instead instantly plummeting towards the ground at speed as a piece of the aircraft flies off in another direction. The camera tracks it all the way to the ground where it falls below a treeline.
After a split-second delay, a huge fireball is seen erupting from where it landed, before more thick black smoke is seen rising into the sky. Seeing the fate of his fellow airmen, the pilot of the other two helicopter flies forward at speed to get out of the dangerous area. The fate of the pilot in the first chopper was unclear. It was not clear if the other helicopter seen in the first clip was the same second chopper that was reportedly shot down later by Ukraine's forces. Another clip appeared to confirm one was downed with a portable air-defense missile system, fired by Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade. In the second clip, black smoke was seen rising from the shot-down helicopter after it crashed in the field. A video carries a voice saying 'We've got it, got it….' followed by expletives. The commander of Ukraine's air force, Mykola Oleshchuk claimed a second near blitzkrieg town Bakhmut in Donetsk region. He posted: 'One less Russian Ka-52 on the Bakhmut front this morning. 'Thanks to the air defense unit of the Air Force for a successful combat operation.'
* * *
Source:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-12422037/Ukraine-blasts-Russian-Ka-52-attack-helicopter-sky.html