Elite Russian helicopter explodes mid-air after devastating strike

Ukraine’s anti-aircraft missile brigade shot down a deadly Russian Ka-52 helicopter on the eastern frontline. Footage of the devastating, pinpoint strike was shared on social media earlier today. The Ukrainian Air Force stated the 138th anti-aircraft brigade struck the helicopter in the Donetsk region at around 2pm today.

In the clip, the Russian military helicopter can be seen flying above Donetsk before it is suddenly struck by an anti-aircraft missile.

The helicopter bursts into flames, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.

The aircraft can then be seen nosediving out of the cloud of smoke and plunging toward the ground.

The Ukrainian armed forces can be heard rejoicing in the background of the video following the strike.

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The Air Force command said the attack helicopter, which regularly targets Ukrainian forces, was hit by the Buk air-defense system.

The devastating blow to Russia’s forces comes as the top US intelligence chief Avril Haines predicted a “reduced tempo” in fighting over the winter months.

Ms Haines said that most of the fighting is currently around the Bakhmut and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine.

She added that there was a “fair amount of scepticism” as to whether Russia would be able to launch a counter-offensive in spring.

She told Ukrainian TV: “We understand that a massive attack is being prepared and is possible any day.

“Remember that neither day nor night matters to the enemy. Their task is terror,”

The conflicting reports come as the war in Ukraine enters its ninth month, with Russia now having lost more than half the land it seized.

Earlier today, the latest intelligence briefing from the British Ministry of Defence revealed that public support in Russia for the war was “falling significantly”.