Watch Ukraine use Soviet-era helicopters in fight against Russia

DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — Skimming the treetops, three Soviet-era attack helicopters bank and swoop down on a field after an early-morning mission to the front lines in the fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine .

Each day, they might fly three or four sorties, says the commander, whose two-crew Mi-24 helicopter , built about 40 years ago, is older than he is.

“We are carrying out combat tasks to destroy enemy vehicles, enemy personnel; we are working with pitch-up attacks from a distance from where the enemy can’t get us with their air defense system,” said the commander, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for operational security reasons, in line with military regulations.

The conflict in Ukraine is largely an artillery war, with territory being fought for inch by inch under a barrage of shells and missiles. But Ukraine’s aviation capabilities play a significant role in the fight, the pilot said.

“The importance of the helicopters is huge,” said the commander, who is part of Ukraine’s 12th Army Aviation Brigade.

Footage from a camera attached to the helicopter during a recent combat mission shows it flying over fields pockmarked with craters from artillery bombing, and firing missiles at Russian trenches that cut through the landscape.

“We are shooting from the big distance and hit the target clearly, like there’s a cross on the target and [the missiles] go by themselves where they should go,” the commander said.

He would, however, like to fly a newer model.

“We need to master something new, something from abroad,” the commander said. “It has better characteristics. You can maneuver more on it, there are more rockets on it and the weapons are more powerful. We can do more tasks with better quality and with less risk for us.”

Several countries, including the United States and Britain, have pledged to send, or have already sent, helicopters to Ukraine as part of military aid since the start of the war sparked by Russia’s invasion in Feb 2022.

乌克兰顿涅茨克地区——三架苏联时代的攻击直升机掠过树梢，在清晨执行完前往前线对抗俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的任务后，倾斜机身俯冲到一片田野上。

指挥官说，他们每天可能会执行三到四次飞行任务。他那架大约 40 年前制造的双人 Mi-24 直升机比他年纪还大。

“我们正在执行作战任务，摧毁敌方车辆和人员；我们正在进行远距离突袭，让敌人的防空系统无法攻击到我们，”这位指挥官说道。出于作战安全原因，他要求匿名，这符合军事规定。

乌克兰冲突主要是一场炮战，双方在炮火和导弹的猛烈轰击下寸土必争。但这位飞行员表示，乌克兰的航空力量在战斗中也发挥着重要作用。

“直升机的重要性非常巨大，”这位来自乌克兰第12陆军航空旅的指挥官说道。

在最近的一次作战任务中，直升机上安装的摄像机拍摄的画面显示，它飞越布满炮火轰炸弹坑的田野，并向贯穿地形的俄罗斯战壕发射导弹。

指挥官说：“我们从很远的距离发射导弹，精准地击中目标，就像目标上有一个十字标记一样，导弹会自行飞向它们应该去的地方。”

但他更想驾驶更新的型号。

“我们需要掌握一些新东西，一些来自国外的东西，”指挥官说。“它的性能更好。它的机动性更强，火箭弹数量更多，武器威力也更大。我们可以用它完成更多任务，而且质量更高，风险也更小。”

自 2022 年 2 月俄罗斯入侵乌克兰引发战争以来，包括美国和英国在内的几个国家已经承诺向乌克兰派遣或已经派遣直升机作为军事援助。