Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
This is the moment Ukrainian soldiers reportedly shoot down a massive Russian helicopter gunship.
The Russian helicopter, reportedly a Mil Mi-24, comes crashing down in a field in a ball of flames.
The images were obtained from the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, along with a short statement saying: “In the Donetsk region fighters of territorial defense of Ukraine brought down the Russian military Mi-35M helicopter.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation” to “liberate the Donbass”. Today marks the 114th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 16th June, Russia had lost about 32,950 personnel, 1,449 tanks, 3,545 armoured fighting vehicles, 729 artillery pieces, 233 multiple launch rocket systems, 97 air defence systems, 213 warplanes, 179 helicopters, 591 tactical drones, 129 cruise missiles, 13 warships, 2,494 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 55 pieces of special equipment.
Washington has told China it risks ending up on the “wrong side of history” following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s assurance to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Beijing supports Russian “sovereignty”.
Thousands of civilians remain trapped in the key eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, where the water supply is reported to be dwindling. Hundreds of civilians are taking shelter in the bunkers beneath the city’s Azot chemical plant.
Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai said earlier this week that all three bridges into Sievierodonetsk had been destroyed, making delivering supplies and evacuating civilians impossible.
United States President Joe Biden has promised Kyiv another USD 1 billion in security assistance and weapons. And US General Mark Milley says Russia has lost around 20 to 30 per cent of its armoured force during the ongoing invasion.
Former Russian president and staunch Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev has derided French, German and Italian leaders visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as “fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, 16th June.
On 8th June, the European Parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
