Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Ukraine Using Soviet-Era Choppers to Pummel Russia From Afar
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
March 24, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — Skimming the treetops, three Soviet-era attack helicopters bank and swoop down on a field after an early-morning mission to the front lines in the fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Each day, they might fly three or four sorties, says the commander, whose two-crew Mi-24 helicopter, built about 40 years ago, is older than he is.

“We are carrying out combat tasks to destroy enemy vehicles, enemy personnel, we are working with pitch-up attacks from a distance from where the enemy can’t get us with their air defense system,” said the commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity for operational security reasons, in line with military regulations.

The conflict in Ukraine is largely an artillery war, with territory being fought for inch by inch under a barrage of shells and missiles. But Ukraine’s aviation capabilities play a significant role in the fight, the pilot said.

“The importance of the helicopters is huge,” said the commander, who is part of Ukraine’s 12th Army Aviation Brigade.

Footage from a camera attached to the helicopter during a recent combat mission shows it flying over fields pockmarked with craters from artillery bombing, and firing missiles at Russian trenches that cut through the landscape.

“We are shooting from the big distance and hit the target clearly, like there’s a cross on the target and (the missiles) go by themselves where they should go,” the commander said.

He would, however, like to fly a newer model.

“We need to master something new, something from abroad,” the commander said. “It has better characteristics. You can maneuver more on it, there are more rockets on it and the weapons are more powerful. We can do more tasks with better quality and with less risk for us.”

Several countries, including the United States and Britain, have pledged to send, or have already sent, helicopters to Ukraine as part of military aid since the start of the war sparked by Russia’s invasion in Feb 2022.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Merced’s Iconic Laura Fountain Returns to Splendor With $300K Restoration

DON'T MISS

If You Thought Trump Wasn’t Serious About Deportations, Look at His First Appointments

DON'T MISS

Biden EPA to Charge First-Ever ‘Methane Fee’ for Emissions Waste by Oil and Gas Companies

DON'T MISS

Trump Picks Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to Be Ambassador to Israel

DON'T MISS

At the Pandemic’s Start, Americans Began Drinking More. They Still Are.

DON'T MISS

Last GOP Congressman Anchored in Democratic LA County Concedes in Race Against Former NASA Exec

DON'T MISS

Aid Groups Say Israel Misses US Deadline to Boost Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza

DON'T MISS

Speaker Mike Johnson Says Republicans Are ‘Ready to Deliver’ on Trump’s Agenda

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Slips as the Trump Trade Cools

DON'T MISS

49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan Says Players’ Sideline Spat Has Been ‘Squashed’

UP NEXT

Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Lebanon and Isolated Northern Gaza While Netanyahu and Trump Speak

UP NEXT

Trump to Target Iran’s Oil Trade in Renewed ‘Maximum Pressure’ Campaign

UP NEXT

Israeli Soccer Fans Were Attacked in Amsterdam. The Violence Was Condemned as Antisemitic

UP NEXT

Middle East Latest: Israeli Defense Minister Officially Steps Down

UP NEXT

Large Airstrikes Hit Beirut Suburbs as Israel Expands Northern Gaza Operations

UP NEXT

Putin Congratulates Trump on His Election Victory in His First Public Comments on the US Vote

UP NEXT

8-Hour Russian Drone Barrage Keeps Kyiv on Edge as War in Ukraine Nears 1,000 Days

UP NEXT

Cuba Left Reeling After Category 3 Hurricane Ravages Island and Knocks Out Power Grid

UP NEXT

Trump Promises to Bring Lasting Peace to a Tumultuous Middle East. But Fixing It Won’t Be Easy

UP NEXT

Lebanon Files Complaint Against Israel at UN Labor Body Over Deadly Pager Explosions

Trump Picks Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to Be Ambassador to Israel

46 mins ago

At the Pandemic’s Start, Americans Began Drinking More. They Still Are.

1 hour ago

Last GOP Congressman Anchored in Democratic LA County Concedes in Race Against Former NASA Exec

1 hour ago

Aid Groups Say Israel Misses US Deadline to Boost Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza

2 hours ago

Speaker Mike Johnson Says Republicans Are ‘Ready to Deliver’ on Trump’s Agenda

2 hours ago

Wall Street Slips as the Trump Trade Cools

2 hours ago

49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan Says Players’ Sideline Spat Has Been ‘Squashed’

2 hours ago

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Will Have Season-Ending Surgery on Torn Hamstring

2 hours ago

Judge Delays Ruling on Whether to Scrap Trump’s Conviction in Hush Money Case

2 hours ago

Songwriters Hall of Fame Unveils Star-Studded 2025 Nominees, From Eminem to Janet Jackson

2 hours ago

Merced’s Iconic Laura Fountain Returns to Splendor With $300K Restoration

A landmark from days of old when Merced was known as “Fountain City” is back, fully restored for new generations to appreciate. ...

33 mins ago

33 mins ago

Merced’s Iconic Laura Fountain Returns to Splendor With $300K Restoration

37 mins ago

If You Thought Trump Wasn’t Serious About Deportations, Look at His First Appointments

45 mins ago

Biden EPA to Charge First-Ever ‘Methane Fee’ for Emissions Waste by Oil and Gas Companies

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee during a roundtable at the Drexelbrook Catering & Event Center, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Drexel Hill, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
46 mins ago

Trump Picks Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to Be Ambassador to Israel

1 hour ago

At the Pandemic’s Start, Americans Began Drinking More. They Still Are.

1 hour ago

Last GOP Congressman Anchored in Democratic LA County Concedes in Race Against Former NASA Exec

2 hours ago

Aid Groups Say Israel Misses US Deadline to Boost Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza

2 hours ago

Speaker Mike Johnson Says Republicans Are ‘Ready to Deliver’ on Trump’s Agenda

Search

Send this to a friend