Vladimir Putin’s helicopter was allegedly targeted by Ukrainian drones during his visit to the Kursk region.
According to Newsweek, an official claimed that the Russian president made a surprise visit to the Kursk region last week, during which his helicopter was targeted by Ukraine.
Commander of an air defense division, Yury Dashkin revealed that the president last month visited the border region for the first time since Russia claimed that it had repelled Ukrainian forces from the area last month.
Putin helicopter becomes the ‘epicentre’ of Ukrainian drone
As per Kremlin newswire Tass reported that Dashkin calimed that Putin’s helicopter was "at the epicentre" of a "large-scale" Ukrainian drone attack.
In an interview aired by the state-run Rossiya-24 TV channel he said, “The intensity of the attack during the flight of the aircraft with the Commander-in-Chief over the territory of the Kursk Region increased significantly.”
“Therefore, we simultaneously conducted an air defense battle and ensured the safety of the presidential helicopter's flight in the air,” he added.
The Kremlin also confirmed Putin’s unannounced trip to Kursk, while TASS reported that he met with local volunteers, municipal leaders, and the acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, during the visit.
Notably, after Ukraine’s drone attacks, Russia launched its largest air strike, 367 drones and missiles, on Ukraine over the weekend that killed at least 12 people, including three children.
