The Russian Defence Ministry has published a video of a combat mission by Russian helicopters destroying a Ukrainian Buk missile system (NATO reporting name "Gadfly"). In the video several Russian helicopters, possibly Mi-24 (NATO reporting name: "Hind") are seen taking off before taking on the Ukrainian air defence system.
The radio communications of the pilots suggests that the Ukrainian Buk was spotted as it launched one of its missiles and that the Russian helicopters proceeded to hit its presumed location. The video separately shows the explosion of the Buk caused by the helicopters' strike.
The Defence Ministry did not specify where the footage was shot. However, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported on 12 April that the Russian armed forces taking part in the special military operation in Ukraine had destroyed a Buk-M1 air defence system near the village of Novomikhailovka. The latter is located on the outskirts of the territory controlled by the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
Moscow launched its special military operation on 24 February following a request from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) to defend them against attacks by Ukrainian forces, which have been ongoing with varying intensity for the past eight years. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the operation's goals as the defence of the Donbass republics, as well as the demilitarisation and "denazification" of Ukraine.