Ukraine used drones in an attempt to down a helicopter carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s Kursk region on May 20.
Russian Air Force Major-General Yuri Dashkin said Putin’s helicopter was “virtually at the epicenter of repelling a large-scale attack by the enemy’s drones,” and that 46 drones were shot down during the attack, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The area borders Ukraine and has been occupied by their troops since August.
Dashkin explained, “During the period when the President [Putin] was working in the Kursk region, the enemy launched an unprecedented attack with unmanned aerial vehicles. The air defence group in this area destroyed 46 aircraft-type [Ukrainian military drones].”
“The intensity of the attack during the flight of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s aircraft over Kursk region increased significantly. We simultaneously conducted an air battle and ensured the safety of the presidential helicopter in the air,” Dashkin continued. “The task was accomplished. The attack of the enemy drones was repelled, and all air targets were hit.”
Putin’s visit to the war zone was not announced until he had returned to safety, indicating that Ukraine had inside information.
The Russian president has largely avoided active war zones during the three-year-long conflict.
AP reports:
Russia’s Defense Ministry quoted Yaroslav Yakimkin of the “North” group of Russian forces as saying Sunday that Ukrainian troops have been pushed back from the border in the Kursk region, which Putin visited days ago.
“The troops continue to advance forward every day,” Yakimkin said, adding that Russian forces have taken Marine and Loknya in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, which borders Kursk, over the past week, and were advancing in the Kharkiv region around the largely destroyed town of Vovchansk.
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