According to open source data, the russian army used attack helicopters to shell columns of Wagner Group units, which today entered Rostov-on-Don and blocked the headquarters of the Southern Military District and other buildings of the security forces. It is also claimed that the Wagnerites shot down at least 2 or 3 russian military helicopters.
It is difficult to establish the veracity of these claims at the moment. It is also currently not possible to determine what means of air defense the Wagner units could have employed. However, based on footage from social media, the types of helicopters deployed by the russian military can be identified.
Read more: Russia Launches Almost 50 Missiles on Ukraine Despite Internal Conflict with Wagner Group
There is russian Ka-52 helicopter, flying without a combat payload but with external fuel tanks still attached, on one of the videos. This raises two plausible scenarios: either the helicopter was engaged in visual reconnaissance or it had already executed an attack on one of the Wagner’s convoys and was returning to base, utilizing fuel from the external tanks.
Furthermore, another footage also captures at least one Mi-28 helicopter with visible combat load. In this case, there is no room for interpretation – the Mi-28 was undeniably deployed for an active combat mission.
Interestingly, one of the russian war correspondents also claims that the Wagner Group allegedly destroyed a specialized Mi-8MTPR helicopter used for electronic warfare. Such helicopters have previously fallen victim to the Bryansk air defense forces.
Furthermore, this war correspondent states that the information regarding a possible downing of an army Mi-35M helicopter is being verified.
It is possible that a part of the army aviation units, equipped with more advanced Ka-52 and Mi-28 helicopters, were left in the “rear territory”, meaning within the russian federation itself. This could be attributed to the fact that the personnel of these aviation units were still undergoing their training courses.
Read more: Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Says Everything is Still Ahead, Main Offensive Reserve Yet To Be Sent Into Battle
