HIMARS Strike on Russian Air Base Destroys Four Helicopters: Video

Ukraine “destroyed” four Russian helicopters across the border in Russia’s Belgorod region using missiles fired by U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Kyiv’s special forces said on Monday.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Moscow said on Tuesday that Ukraine had attempted an attack on the western part of its border region of Belgorod as Kyiv’s grip on remaining territory in Kursk, which neighbors Belgorod, receded.

One of Russia’s prominent military bloggers said on Sunday that Russia was still redirecting troops to the area, with Ukraine “stretching” the Kremlin’s forces. Clashes took place between Russian and Ukrainian troops in the village of Demidovka, over the border from the Ukrainian city of Sumy, the account then said on Monday.

Targeting Russian assets like aircraft and helicopters helps Ukraine chip away at Moscow’s ability to scope out Ukrainian positions, carry out airborne strikes or move troops around.

What To Know

Ukraine’s special forces said Kyiv had “struck and destroyed” four Russian helicopters “behind enemy lines” in the Belgorod region using HIMARS.

Kyiv took out the two Ka-52 and two Mi-8 helicopters in a joint operation with Ukraine’s military intelligence, rocket forces and artillery, the special forces said.

In a statement also shared by Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, Kyiv said Moscow had created a “camouflaged” position for the helicopters, designed to quickly deploy or launch surprise attacks on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military shared a clip purporting to show the strikes, missiles hitting four targets that then burst into flames. Newsweek could not independently verify the footage.

Ukraine has made extensive use of U.S.-delivered systems like HIMARS since they were first supplied to the war-torn country in summer 2022.

Russia’s helicopters, including Ka-52s and Mi-8s, have been high-value targets for Ukraine throughout the more than three years of war.

The Ka-52, designed to target tanks, enemy military vehicles, manpower and helicopters, has a maximum speed of up to 186 miles per hour, according to Russian state military exporter, Rosoboronexport. The Mi-8 is a multipurpose helicopter, often used to transport equipment or ferry troops around, with an estimated price tag of $15 million.

Kyiv’s General Staff said as of Monday that Moscow had lost 335 of its helicopters since February 2022, including four since early on Sunday.

According to Dutch open-source intelligence outlet, Oryx, Russia has lost a confirmed 64 Ka-52 helicopters and 40 Mi-8s. In total, 120 of Russia’s helicopters have been destroyed, another 30 damaged and two captured, according to the Oryx tally. The true figure is likely higher, as this only includes visually-verified losses.

What People Are Saying

Ukraine’s special operations forces said in a statement that the various branches of Kyiv’s military had “destroyed two enemy Ka-52 and two Mi-8 helicopters in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.”