Black Sea Conflict, Ukraine: A Russian Helicopter Shot Down by Drone

On Tuesday, January 1, the Ukrainian military intelligence announced that one of its naval drones had destroyed a Russian helicopter and damaged another in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian intelligence agency wrote on its Telegram channel that in a battle near Cape Tarkhankut on the western coast of Crimea, a 'Magura V5' missile-equipped naval drone encountered a Russian 'Mi-8' helicopter and successfully shot down an aerial target for the first time. No comments have been released from Moscow regarding the downing of this helicopter, and Reuters reported that it has been unable to independently verify this report. Nevertheless, the downing of the Russian helicopter by a Ukrainian naval drone was also reported by a Russian military blogger, Voenniy Osudomitel. In contrast, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on its Telegram channel that its fleet in the Black Sea had destroyed eight Ukrainian drones. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military intelligence stated that a second Russian helicopter was able to reach the airport after being damaged in this attack. In a low-quality video released by this agency, a helicopter flying over water is shown being targeted by several projectiles and then seen falling. Reuters has stated that it has not yet been able to confirm this. Following the large-scale Russian invasion in March 2022, Ukraine has increased drone production and developed its naval attack drones. The Ukrainian military has used naval drones to attack Russian ships and military facilities in Crimea, which was seized by Moscow in 2014. Ukrainian naval and missile attacks have caused significant damage to Russia's main naval base in Sevastopol, and according to Ukraine, the Russian Black Sea fleet has been forced to relocate almost all of its warships to other locations. On Tuesday, Ukraine also announced that it had shot down six out of 21 missiles fired by Russia. This report indicated minor damages in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and impacts on infrastructure in the northern Sumy region. The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced on Telegram that a woman was injured in the Kyiv region, and a private house was damaged. Meanwhile, the Kyiv military administration stated on Telegram that missile debris damaged three private buildings and two cars in one of the capital's areas. The Ukrainian Air Force announced that a Russian hypersonic 'Kinzhal' missile was among the six missiles shot down. The governor of the Sumy region also stated in a television interview that Russia had fired a total of 13 missiles at the city of Shostka in northern Sumy, damaging 12 high-rise residential buildings, two educational centers, three boilers, and a clinic, causing the destruction of some infrastructure. Russian forces also used 40 drones to attack Ukraine, of which, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, 16 were shot down, and 24 others failed to reach their targets. In contrast, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Telegram that it attacked military airport infrastructure and munitions production facilities in Ukraine on Tuesday morning, hitting all targeted objectives. Reuters has stated that it has been unable to independently verify this statement.