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Russian Mi-8 helicopter with its crew surrendered after landing at Poltava airfield.
This has been reported by a Ukrainian source citing a Russian Facebook post, with no independent confirmation by MSM. But if this turns out to be true, this is an unprecedented event in the history of Russian aviation.
https://censor.net/en/news/3439166/russian_mi8_helicopter_with_its_crew_surrendered_after_landing_at_poltava_airfield_this_is_first_known
A Russian Mi-8 combat helicopter with the entire crew flew to the territory of Ukraine and surrendered to the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The propagandists talk about navigational errors, but this is a lie.
This was reported by Censor.NET editor-in-chief Yuriy Butusov.
"This story promises to become legendary. A Russian Mi-8 combat helicopter with the entire crew flew to Ukraine and surrendered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was reported by a Russian propaganda channel. The Russians claim that the reason for the flight was a navigational error, but there is no doubt that this is another Russian lie. After all, if the helicopter flew to the Poltava airfield, as reported by a Russian blogger, it is located about 300 km from the front line, and the Russians could only land there deliberately, as a result of a well-prepared flight," the report said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3439166
According to Butusov, the helicopter flies at low altitude and low speed, so the crew can see all ground landmarks clearly.
"It is simply impossible to make a mistake at 300 km, it is a big fuel consumption. There can be no accidents. If everything happened as the Russians wrote, it is possible that this is the first ever deliberate surrender of a Russian combat helicopter! This is just a sensation that will demoralize Putin's military aviation elite. We are awaiting details from Ukrainian official sources, but this topic is expected to be in all the world's media. Did the helicopter crew decide to join the ranks of the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps? It would be interesting to hear a statement from the Russian pilots," the journalist concluded.
This was reported by Censor.NET editor-in-chief Yuriy Butusov.
"This story promises to become legendary. A Russian Mi-8 combat helicopter with the entire crew flew to Ukraine and surrendered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was reported by a Russian propaganda channel. The Russians claim that the reason for the flight was a navigational error, but there is no doubt that this is another Russian lie. After all, if the helicopter flew to the Poltava airfield, as reported by a Russian blogger, it is located about 300 km from the front line, and the Russians could only land there deliberately, as a result of a well-prepared flight," the report said. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3439166
According to Butusov, the helicopter flies at low altitude and low speed, so the crew can see all ground landmarks clearly.
"It is simply impossible to make a mistake at 300 km, it is a big fuel consumption. There can be no accidents. If everything happened as the Russians wrote, it is possible that this is the first ever deliberate surrender of a Russian combat helicopter! This is just a sensation that will demoralize Putin's military aviation elite. We are awaiting details from Ukrainian official sources, but this topic is expected to be in all the world's media. Did the helicopter crew decide to join the ranks of the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps? It would be interesting to hear a statement from the Russian pilots," the journalist concluded.
On edit: A high ranking source in Ukraine's Defense intelligence has confirmed this event, claiming it to be the "result of a long-term special operation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/08/23/7416758/
