- Category
- War in Ukraine
Russia Shot Down Its Own Ka-52 Attack Helicopter During Ukrainian Drone Raid
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russia’s Ka-52 attack helicopter that crashed in Russia’s Voronezh region on July 2 was likely brought down by friendly fire while responding to a Ukrainian drone attack, according to The Insider, citing Russian military blogger Vladimir Romanov.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
The outlet reported on July 7 that Romanov said the helicopter was mistakenly hit by a Verba man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) operated by a mobile fire group from Russia’s BARS (Combat Army Reserve) units. The incident reportedly occurred as Russian forces attempted to repel Ukrainian drones over the Voronezh region.
Romanov said the incident highlights broader shortcomings in the organization and training of Russia’s mobile air defense groups.
In a post quoted by The Insider, he wrote: “There are military personnel who are more or less trained and have at least some level of coordination. They get results. Then there are 'volunteers' picked up off the street with minimal training, who are given weapons and begin firing blindly 'toward the target.' That leads to very unfortunate consequences.”
The Insider also cited Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) founder Ruslan Leviev, who suggested the helicopter may have been mistakenly engaged because the missile’s seeker locked onto the Ka-52's hotter engine exhaust rather than the intended Ukrainian drone.
“The missile’s seeker locked onto a target that was 'hotter than the UAV'—namely, the helicopter’s engine exhaust.”
Reports of the helicopter’s loss first surfaced on July 2 through Russian military pilot and pro-war blogger Aleksei “Voevoda” Zemtsov, who said the pilot had been killed. Several days later, pro-Russian military blogger Kirill Fyodorov reported that the Ka-52 had been lost while repelling a Ukrainian drone attack, claiming the navigator ejected and survived with injuries while the aircraft commander was killed.
Discuss this article:
-9a7b3a98ed5c506e0b77a6663f5727c5.png)
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")