On MI-8 helicopters
Ukrainian secret service announces “historic attack”
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The war between Russia and Ukraine is raging not only on land, but also at sea. Kiev repeatedly successfully attacks parts of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet with maritime drones. Now Ukraine is also targeting helicopters.
The Ukrainian secret service HUR has published a video on social media showing the destruction of a Russian MI-8 military helicopter during a naval battle in the Black Sea off Tarhankut. This is a peninsula in the west of Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.
According to the HUR, for the first time in history, a Ukrainian special forces unit destroyed an aerial target using a weapon-equipped naval attack drone “Magura V5”. Accordingly, the Russian Mi-8 helicopter is said to have been destroyed by the use of R-73 rockets. According to the HUR, another helicopter was said to have been damaged and was apparently able to return to its base.
According to Ukrainian information, the 5.5 meter long “Magura V5” has a range of more than 800 kilometers and reaches a top speed of 80 kilometers per hour. In the past, Ukraine had already used the drone to damage or even sink various ships in the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In June, Ukrainian intelligence announced that the drone could now be equipped with anti-aircraft missiles.
The R-73 is a short-range air-to-air missile. The type of rocket is nicknamed the “Sea Dragon” and was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The NATO code name is AA-11 “Archer”. There was no statement from the Russian side about the shooting down of the helicopter. The Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol only said on Telegram that two unmanned drones had been destroyed near the coast during the night.
