2023-02-05T15:30:00+02:00 Politics 2024-09-15T05:55:32+03:00

Ukrainian news

Secret Ukrainian Battalion Announces Shooting Down Of Helicopter On Russian Territory - The Guardian

Secret Ukrainian Battalion Announces Shooting Down Of Helicopter On Russian Territory - The Guardian

On the territory of Russia there is a secret Ukrainian battalion Bratstvo, which announced the downing of a helicopter intended for high-ranking officials six weeks ago. It is reported by The Guardian on Sunday, February 5.

The publication reports that it talked with members of the Bratstvo battalion, a volunteer group of Ukrainian special forces fighting the Russian regime on the territory of the aggressor country.

"Their work ranges from the kidnapping of senior Kremlin officials, to the destruction of key military infrastructure and the downing of enemy aircraft on Russian territory… The volunteers of the Bratstvo, Ukrainian for brotherhood, have a peculiar status, technically independent from Ukraine’s army but operating side by side with the official forces. Their arm’s-length status offers deniability,” the statement said.

According to one of the members of the battalion, mainly civilian or the most nimble of the other volunteer battalions are recruited. He said that six weeks ago, the Bratstvo conducted the most successful operation. They had the task of destroying a Russian helicopter carrying high-ranking officials of the Russian Ministry of Interior Affairs, but the first time bad weather prevented the laser sight from accurately targeting the target. A week later, they made a second attempt, the publication reports.

The five-man task force departed at seven in the morning, spent the night on the spot and heard a helicopter at 9 in the morning, and with the help of a reconnaissance drone confirmed that it was the same helicopter.

“We fired from a portable anti-aircraft missile system at a helicopter from a distance of 4km. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the hit as we were so far away, but we heard the explosion. And then we quickly fled from our positions. We left behind the tripod used for the portable anti-aircraft missile system. We returned twice as fast,” the Guardian quotes a Bratstvo fighter.

The main purpose of the battalion is to demonstrate to the enemy that Ukrainians can act in their rear, which very demoralizes the enemy: "The helicopter was intended for the Russian leadership, and the very fact that Ukrainian saboteurs shoot at Russian commanders is already a point of tension for the Russians. It unnerves the Russian command," said one of the fighters.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on January 27, a Мі-8 helicopter fell at Vnukovo airport in the capital of Russia, Moscow, which is used to transport top officials and officials of the highest rank.

On December 5, an explosion occurred at the Engels-2 air base in the Saratov Region. As a result of the incident, two strategic Ту-95 bombers suffered damage.

Also, on December 5, an explosion occurred at the Diaghilevo military airfield in the Ryazan region of the Russian Federation.