Videos have circulated on Telegram of a Russian helicopter crashing, reportedly killing two people. The source of the crash is yet to be distinguished.
Two Russian Mi-8 helicopters and an Su-34 fighter bomber crashed Saturday in a western Russian region bordering Ukraine, a Telegram channel close to the Russian defence ministry reported that day.
According to the post on the pro-Kremlin “Rybar” channel, which Russian independent media have linked to former defence ministry employees, one of the crashes occurred over the city of Klintsy, some 50 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Videos have circulated across Telegram and other social media platforms. One such video shows a helicopter being filmed up in the sky before it explodes and slowly falls down to the ground.
Another pro-Kremlin news outlet, Mash, blamed Ukrainian “saboteurs” who it said were being sought by Russian police.
Also on Saturday, Russian state agency Tass separately reported that two crew members died in one of the helicopter crashes. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities.
According to the governor of Bryansk, “There was a helicopter crash in Klintsy today. As a result of the incident, there was one victim among the civilians – a woman has been taken to the regional hospital, and she is receiving all the necessary medical assistance. Five households were damaged. Emergency services are working on site.”
The exact circumstances of how both crashes unfolded are still yet to be established.