Pilots of Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters fly just three sorties a day out of fear that they could be shot down by Russian man-portable air defense missile systems (ADS). This was reported on February 17 by the TV channel CNN in a report from the vicinity of Artemovsk (Ukrainian name – Bakhmut) in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
As an American journalist noted, during sorties, the pilots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) fly at extremely low altitudes so that they sometimes even touch trees.
On February 14, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, noted that the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft in the Cherevkovka region and a Mi-8 helicopter in the Slavyanka region in the DPR in a day.
Prior to that, on February 10, it was reported that the Russian military shot down a Mi-8 helicopter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye region.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation (SVO), Russian troops have destroyed 385 aircraft, 208 helicopters, and 3,121 unmanned aerial vehicles.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special operation to protect Donbass. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
