Video shows PMC Wagner fighters shooting down Ka-52 helicopter during Prigozhin mutiny
For the first time, video footage has been published showing Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner shooting down a Ka-52 helicopter during Yevgeny Prigozhin’s armed mutiny in June 2023. The footage was shared by military blogger and pilot Alexey Voivoda.
The video shows a column of military vehicles, reportedly belonging to Wagner. A helicopter is seen flying over the convoy, and a missile is launched at it. The projectile hits the Ka-52, which catches fire and crashes down.
“Unfortunately, the altitude wasn’t enough. It was clearly stretching for a forced landing at first,” Voivoda commented.
During the crash of the Ka-52 attack helicopter on June 24 – reportedly in Russia’s Voronezh region – the crew from the Pskov territorial garrison was unable to survive. Pskov Governor Mikhail Vedernikov confirmed that the victims were Lieutenant Colonel Alexey Vorozhtsov and Lieutenant Denis Oleynikov.
Il-22 Aircraft Also Shot Down During Mutiny
During the mutiny, the crew of an Ilyushin Il-22 aircraft was also killed. Wagner’s air defense systems shot down the Il-22 on June 25. All 10 crew members were killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an address from the Kremlin, praised the bravery of the fallen pilots who took part in suppressing the PMC Wagner mutiny on June 23–24.
Lukashenko Reveals New Details About Prigozhin’s Mutiny
According to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, PMC Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly intended to seize nuclear weapons during the mutiny – an outcome Western analysts also considered plausible.
“Prigozhin was after the nuclear button. Even the West believed he might overthrow the existing government and take control of nuclear arms,” Lukashenko recalled.
Lukashenko admitted he didn’t immediately grasp Prigozhin’s intentions. The Belarusian leader said he was prepared to deploy the republic’s most combat-ready forces to defend Moscow and told Prigozhin so during their conversation.
Details
The Wagner Group, officially known as PMC Wagner (ЧВК «Вагнер»), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, and since then by Pavel Prigozhin. The Wagner Group has used infrastructure of the Russian Armed Forces. Evidence suggests that Wagner has been used as a proxy by the Russian government, allowing it to have plausible deniability for military operations abroad, and hiding the true casualties of Russia’s foreign interventions
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