The Russian Defence Ministry has shared a video of state-of-the-art Ka-52 helicopters obliterating Ukrainian armoured vehicles, as part of Moscow's special operation to demilitarise and "de-Nazify" Ukraine.
In the description under the footage, the ministry wrote that "the crews of the helicopters, acting as a pair, destroyed the armoured vehicles of Ukrainian nationalists with anti-tank guided missiles".
The 38-second clip opens with two helicopters flying at low altitude, then showing one of the copters' cockpits. Shortly thereafter, a Ka-52 is seen launching a guided missile at a target and then flying away.
The Ka-52 "Alligator" is an all-weather attack helicopter designed to destroy armoured vehicles, perform fire support operations, and conduct patrol and escort missions. The helicopter is armed with Ataka and Vikhr guided missiles, unguided aircraft missiles of various calibres, as well as aerial bombs and a 30-mm cannon.
The video comes as Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday that the Russian military continues to destroy Ukraine's military infrastructure amid an offensive on Ukrainian Army units by forces from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR).
He added that over 2,000 military facilities have been destroyed by Russian forces in Ukraine since the beginning of Moscow's special military operation last Thursday.
The Russian armed forces have also destroyed 66 Ukrainian aircraft on the ground and 16 more in the air, Konashenkov said, adding that 708 tanks and other armoured vehicles of the Ukrainian Army had been obliterated.
This comes amid the ongoing military operation that Moscow launched in Ukraine on 24 February after DPR and LPR asked Russia for assistance to defend themselves from attacks by Ukrainian troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the goal of the operation is to demilitarise and "de-Nazify" Ukraine.
Russia's Defence Ministry, in turn, underlined that Russian forces are only targeting Ukraine's military infrastructure with high-precision strikes. In one of the latest developments, Russia has declared a ceasefire in Ukraine starting from 07:00 GMT in order to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha.