HIMARS Strike Destroys Russian Mi-8 Helicopter in Donetsk: Video

Ukrainian forces have taken out a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter in the east of the country, Kyiv's military has said, sharing dramatic footage appearing to show the moment U.S.-made weapons hit the helicopter.

The Ukrainian armed forces "functionally destroyed" the Mi-8 helicopter close to the city of Lyman, in the eastern Donetsk region, on Wednesday, Kyiv's military communications platform said in a statement on social media.

Lyman is not far from the frontline fighting in the Donetsk strip that sweeps up to the Kharkiv city of Kupiansk from the destroyed city of Bakhmut. In Kyiv's blitz counteroffensive in the fall of 2022, Ukrainian forces recaptured Lyman from Russian troops, though the key rail hub suffered significant damage.

Ukrainian reconnaissance drones spotted the helicopter before U.S.-provided HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, carried out the hit, Kyiv said. Washington has provided 39 HIMARS to Ukraine to date, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

In a brief video clip, a helicopter can be seen with its rotor blades slowly spinning in the middle of an otherwise apparently deserted field. The footage then shows a fireball and smoke around what looks to be the helicopter. Newsweek was not able to independently verify this footage.

The Ukrainian General Staff added in an operational update early on Thursday that Ukrainian missiles had struck a Russian helicopter in the past 24 hours, although it did not specify the location of the strike or the type of helicopter. Kyiv also took out a Russian anti-aircraft missile system, two artillery systems and an ammunition depot in the past day, the General Staff said.

The Russian Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.

Ukraine frequently shares footage of battlefield strikes, including on Russia's helicopter fleet. In mid-October, the commander of Kyiv's ground forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, posted a video purportedly showing Ukraine's 25th Separate Airborne Brigade destroying a Russian Mi-8 helicopter.

Shortly after, Ukraine said it had targeted Moscow's airbases in Russian-occupied Ukraine with U.S. ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile Systems, and destroyed nine helicopters. In the wake of the strikes, open-source intelligence reports later suggested that Ukraine may have damaged up to 21 Russian helicopters.

The Mi-8 helicopter is used by several militaries around the world, including by both Russian and Ukraine, and is designed to transport troops to different locations on a battlefield. It has several variants, such as the Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicopter, of which Russia is known to have lost a handful during its operations in Ukraine.

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