Russia has said that its Ka-52 alligator attack helicopters have hit Ukrainian military positions with missiles near Lyman.
The footage purports to show the Russian attack helicopters being loaded with ordnance before they can be seen taking to the sky and flying low over countryside.
They can then apparently be seen opening fire on unseen targets before returning to base.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday, 31st May, along with a statement claiming: “The crews of Ka-52 helicopters launched a missile attack on the enemy in the Krasnolimansky direction.”
The Russian MoD added: “The crews of the Ka-52 ‘Alligator’ helicopters of the army aviation of the Central Military District (TsVO) launched a missile attack on enemy targets in the zone of the special military operation (NVO).
The pilots of reconnaissance and attack helicopters completed the tasks of destroying manpower, as well as the accumulation of lightly armoured vehicles of the Ukrainian troops in the Krasnolimansky direction.
“The pilots approached the zone of combat use at an extremely low altitude while enveloping the terrain, which allowed the crews to remain unnoticed by enemy air defence systems.
“Launches of unguided rockets at area targets were carried out using the technique of pitching up, firing off heat traps, a sharp decrease in altitude and a further change of course.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 462nd day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 31st May 2023, Russia had lost about 207,910 personnel, 3,802 tanks, 7,472 armoured combat vehicles, 3,460 artillery units, 575 multiple launch rocket systems, 333 air defence systems, 313 warplanes, 298 helicopters, 3,124 drones, 1,107 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 6,230 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 454 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of trying to “frighten” Russians after the capital Moscow was hit with a large-scale drone attack for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war between the two countries.
He added that Ukraine was attempting to intimidate Russia and Russian citizens with “attacks on residential buildings” that were “clearly a sign of terrorist activity.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential aide, denied that his country was involved but did predict “an increase in the number of attacks”.
The UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, said that Kyiv has a “legitimate right” to defend itself and can “project force” outside of its borders.
He said at a news conference on Tuesday in Estonia that Ukraine has “the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.”
The Russian Ministry of Defence has said that eight drones targeted Moscow overnight, with Russian media saying that over 30 drones had taken part in the attack.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was attacked for the third time and 24 hours, with an air raid taking place on Tuesday morning.
The city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that 20 residents had been evacuated from a building that was hit, adding that one person had died and four people were injured.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that Sweden joining NATO is “within reach”.
Stoltenberg said that it is possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by July, which is when a NATO summit is set to take place.
