WATCH Russian missile take out Ukrainian military helicopter
A Russian missile strike on an airfield in central Ukraine has destroyed a parked Mi-24 combat helicopter, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s strike on the Poltava airfield near the eponymous Ukrainian city involved an Iskander tactical missile, according to the statement. It said several vehicles used by the facility’s engineering staff were hit as well.
The ministry released drone footage from the location showing what appears to be the Ukrainian aircraft, and multiple explosions on the ground indicating the use of a cluster munition.
A similar Iskander attack earlier in the week destroyed and damaged seven Su-27 fighter jets at a different airfield in the same Ukrainian region, the Russian military previously reported.
The Poltava airfield is notable for its role in the destruction of a portion of the Soviet strategic bomber fleet and their weapons, which ended up on Ukrainian soil after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Some of the dozens of decommissioned aircraft were not scrapped, but rather left at the location as part of an open-air museum, which can be seen in the video.
