An air defence system of the 3rd Operational Brigade has destroyed a Russian Mi-24 attack helicopter in Donetsk Region, the National Guard press service reports.
The attack helicopter was shelling the units and providing air cover for enemy infantry advancing on the Ukrainian defence line. The Guardsmen note that the helicopter began to lose altitude and descend after the missile hit, and the pilot's fate is unknown.
"On 7 February, at 14:12, near the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut, the National Guard spotted two enemy Mi-24 helicopters, one target was captured and destroyed by an anti-aircraft gunner using Igla-1 man-portable air defence system," said the head of the air defence service of the 3rd operational brigade, nicknamed Partizan.
The Mi-24 is one of the fastest attack helicopters in the world and the third Russian helicopter shot down by units of the 3rd Operational Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.
As a result of the combat work of the anti-aircraft gunners of the 3rd operational brigade in the Bakhmut area, the occupiers partially lose their combat capability and air superiority.
On 7 February, fellow border guards shot down a Russian Su-25 Grach attack aircraft and a UAV in the sky over Bakhmut.