At least one Russian military helicopter crashes near the border with Ukraine, killing two people, Russian emergency services say
At least one Mi-8 helicopter from the Russian army crashed in a region bordering Ukraine on Saturday, killing two people on board, the Russian rescue services said, citing the TASS news agency, without the causes being clearly clarified at this point in time. “The helicopter crashed in the city of Klintsy due to an engine fire, according to preliminary data,” another source told TASS. The accident happened in the town of Klintsy, Bryansk region, 65 km from the Ukrainian border.
According to regional governor Alexandre Bogomaz, a woman was hospitalized and “damaged five houses,” without giving further details. However, according to a Russian occupation official in Ukraine, Vladimir Rogov, a total of “two Russian Mi-8s, one Su-35 and one Su-34” were actually “shot down” and “the pilots of helicopters and Su-34s were killed”. However, these claims have not been denied or confirmed by the relevant authorities, including the Russian Defense Ministry, which has not commented on the incidents at this time.
The authenticity of videos circulating on social media showing a helicopter caught on fire in mid-air and visibly hit by a projectile could not be independently confirmed.
On the Ukrainian side, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk hailed that “Russians are very unhappy today”. “We can understand them: two fighters and two helicopters down,” she added, without saying more. “Justice (…) and karma” declared in turn on Twitter Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian Presidency, reiterated that the four Russian planes would attack “the civilian population of the Chernihiv region” in northern Ukraine.