Moscow has claimed that that a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack targeted Vladimir Putin’s helicopter as the Russian leader visited the embattled Kursk region earlier this week.
Russian air defence officer Yury Dashkin said on Sunday that Putin’s helicopter was at the “epicentre of an operation to repel a massive drone attack” on Tuesday, state media RT reports.
The alleged attack came as the Russian leader visited the Kursk region, which saw the most significant incursion into Russian territory since the Second World War after Ukraine’s forces launched a daring counterinvasion last summer.
During his first visit to the Russian region after expelling the Ukrainians, Putin’s helicopter became embroiled in an “unprecedented” drone attack comprised of dozens of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Dashkin claimed.
“I would like to stress the fact that the intensity of the attacks during the flight of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s aircraft over the territory of Kursk Region increased significantly,” he said.