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THIS is the moment Vladimir Putin’s £25million attack helicopter went up in flames after a suspected Ukrainian sabotage attack inside Russian territory.
Footage shared by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence (MoD)shows a massive blaze coming out of what Kyiv claims was a Russian Mi-24 assault chopper that has now been wiped out.
youtube/@DI_Ukraine
youtube/@DI_Ukraine
The clip shows a massive ball of fire burning at the Klin-5 airbase, just miles away from Moscow city centre, overnight on November 9.
A shadowy figure, believed to be a Ukrainian spy, can be seen pointing their fingers at the sabotage.
Ukraine’s MoD said the helicopter belonged to the 92nd squadron of the 344th Center of Combat Application and Retraining of the Air Force of the Army Aviation of Russia.
It said in a statement: “HUR would like to remind everyone that for every war crime committed against Ukraine, the occupier will receive a fair punishment.
Ukrainian intelligence did not give further details as to how to sabotage attack was carried out inside the Russian territory.
The Sun was unable to verify the footage independently.
The Klin-5 airbase serves as a strategic defence point for Russia.
It is the home base for Mi-24, Mi-8, the new Mi-8AMTSh, as well as Ka-52 and Mi-28 helicopters.
Ukraine’s audacious move to carry out a sabotage attack on this airbase is being seen as a devastating blow to Russian armed forces who failed to detect Ukrainian movement inside their own territory.
Ukraine’s General Staff previously reported that Russia had lost a whopping 329 military choppers since Putin began his illegal invasion, according to The Kyiv Independent.
This is not the first act of sabotage carried out by the Ukrainians inside Putin’s backyard.
In December 2023, Kyiv’s special operatives carried out two mammoth explosions targeting hit oil tanker wagons on freight trains.
The first explosion had been in the nine-mile Severomuysky rail tunnel – Russia’s longest – on 29 November.
A 41-wagon goods train – including three tankers filled with aviation fuel – was reportedly blown up.
And the second on a nearby track bypassing the tunnel a day later.
A video was shown of a damaged train but the disruption is seen as bigger than officials have publicly admitted.
A Kyiv source told The Sun that the blasts had “paralysed” Russia’s Baikal-Amur Mainline which runs for 2,700 miles from central Russia to its Sea of Japan east coast.
The two bombings are understood to be the deepest behind enemy lines of Ukrainian sabotage attacks so far.
The Baikal-Amur Mainline is used for munitions from North Korea and China to supply Putin’s invading forces in Ukraine, Kyiv claims.
GettyMOUNTING RUSSIAN LOSSES
It comes as Putin’s losses in Ukraine today reached a record daily high of 1,770 – marking his deadliest day of war since 2022.
This figure surpasses the previous high of 1,740 on May 13 and marks a devastating blow to the Russian dictator in the brutal war.
Ukraine’s General Staff released the grim statistics, estimating Russia’s total casualties since the start of the full-scale invasion at over 710,000.
These numbers include those killed, wounded, missing, and captured.
Western analysts corroborate these figures, highlighting the catastrophic cost of Russia’s disastrous military campaign.
October was already one of the bloodiest months for Russian forces.
UK Defence Staff Chief Admiral Anthony Radakin stated that Russian casualties in October averaged 1,500 daily.
Earlier in the month, UK Defense Minister John Healey reported that 41,980 Russian troops were killed or injured in October alone.
And in June, Putin lost more than 1,200 troops in just 24 hours after Western nations – including the US – gave Ukraine the green light to strike Russia with their weapons.
The heavy toll comes as Russia pushes forward with “tactical, territorial gains” in Ukraine.
Despite the staggering losses, Russian forces have managed to advance, reclaiming 1,146 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory since August, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
Key areas in southern Donetsk Oblast, Toretsk, Chasiv Yar, and Kupiansk have witnessed significant Russian advances.
Trump could greenlight Ukraine striking Russia with long-range missiles, ex-MI6 chief says
By Foreign News Reporter Ellie Doughty
DONALD Trump could give the go-ahead for Ukraine to hammer long-range missiles inside Russia, the former head of MI6 told The Sun.
Sir Richard Dearlove dismissed alarmist concerns following the Republican strongman’s epic election win and said he could crack down on Putin despite leaked plans suggesting a softer approach.
The ex-Spook insisted Trump wouldn’t “risk his reputation as a strong president by selling Ukraine down the river”.
Sir Dearlove said: “An awful lot of people are throwing their toys out of the pram and being very alarmed at this point in time.
“But I think we need to be much more balanced, much more reserved and, you know, take stock.
“Obviously there’s going to be momentum generated by his administration for some sort of deal or settlement in Ukraine.”
Ukraine has long pushed for a relaxing of permissions on its use of American and British weaponry – hoping to fire long-range rockets inside Putin’s territory.
Without air force cover to protect from enemy attacks, Kyiv’s forces argue the broader missile use would make all the difference in pushing back Russian forces.
Western allies have hesitated to green-light their use for fear of escalation between Putin and Nato.
Sir Dearlove said: “I think that Trump is less risk averse than Biden was in terms of how American weapons might be used in Ukraine.
“So you could imagine a situation where he takes the restraints off Ukrainian use of longer-range American missile capability which the Ukrainians will have.”
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