Putin's troops blast one of their own $24M helicopters out of the sky
Russia 's armed forces suffered a new blow today when its air defences shot down one of its own military helicopters near the war zone. The latest friendly fire nightmare resulted in the death of all four crew members, it was reported.
The £19 million ($24 million) Ka-29 assault helicopter was on duty hunting for Ukrainian kamikaze sea drones near Black Sea resort Anapa this morning when it was hit by a Russian Pantsir medium-range surface-to-air missile in an incident of mistaken targeting. The Russian defence ministry did not immediately admit to the loss - the latest of many friendly fire incidents - but it was reported by a slew of reliable Russian pro-war channels.
The Russians blamed the blunder on a malfunction of the 'friend or foe' identification system. It came after Vladimir Putin 's choppers eliminated a contingent of seaborne attack drones launched by Ukraine in the early hours of the morning in an attempt to hit Moscow 's warships in the Black Sea.
Helicopters are seen as the most effective means to attack Ukraine's increasingly sophisticated sea drones which have caused devastating damage to Putin's naval assets during the war.
More than 110 aerial drones were also fired at Russia overnight and though most were downed, some caused fires at several Russian oil depots.
Kyiv 's drone forces attacked a Russian fuel and lubricants train in the Tambov region, and the Enemskaya oil depot in Adygea region, according to Ukrainian sources.
At least five explosions were recorded in the area of the Enemskaya oil depot, after which a fire started, said the Ukrainian general staff.
Drones also attacked oil refineries in Afipsky and Ilsky, oil refineries in Krasnodar and Astrakhan regions.
Russian radar and electronic intelligence centres were hit in the Bryansk region, and in occupied Crimea. They also hit a storage and preparation site for Iranian-supplied Shahed attack drones.
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