Russian Forces Down Ukrainian Mi-24 Helicopter, Three UAVs, Including Bayraktar Drone, MoD Says

The Russian Armed Forces are continuing to conduct the special operation in Ukraine, which was ordered by President Vladimir Putin on 24 February following a request from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) to protect them.

Russia’s military shot down one Ukrainian Mi-24 (NATO reporting name: Hind) helicopter and three unmanned aerial vehicles, including a Turkish-made Bayraktar drone, the Russian Defence Ministry reported. All four aircraft were downed in one day, the ministry clarified.

Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated that Russian forces have destroyed a total of 3,593 military objects in Ukraine over the course of the special military operation, which was launched on 24 February. He clarified that Russian forces have downed 61 Ukrainian helicopters and 126 drones, in addition to 1,159 tanks and other armoured vehicles.

Forces of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) have moved deeper into territory controlled by Kiev's forces, seizing Vozgorye, Molodezhnoe, and parts of Popasnaya, Konashenkov said. He added that LPR troops are approaching the city of Severodonetsk.

Russian forces, in turn, seized Novoandreevka and Kirillovka, drawing near to a group of settlements held by Ukrainian forces – Novomayorskoye, Pavlovka, Nikolskoye, Vladimirovka, and Blagodatnoye.

President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to launch a military operation in Ukraine following a request for help from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), also citing the need to protect the two republics that have been suffering from constant shelling by Ukrainian forces. Putin described the goals of the special operation as the demilitarisation and de-Nazification of Ukraine.

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