A new video making the rounds on social media is an example of the savage accuracy that Ukraine has claimed is helping it fight off Russia’s superior numbers.
The video was shared by the BBC with some caveats, and it should be noted that in the flood of videos and photos purporting to show incidents from the conflict, it is often very difficult to confirm the veracity of either.
“Stark video of a Russian helicopter being shot down by Ukrainian forces. The pictures – showing a Russian MI-24 helicopter being struck by a surface to air missile – come from a Ukrainian government source. It’s not clear where exactly in Ukraine the strike took place,” the BBC’s Yalda Hakim tweeted.
Stark video of a Russian helicopter being shot down by Ukrainian forces.
The pictures – showing a Russian MI-24 helicopter being struck by a surface to air missile – come from a Ukrainian government source. It's not clear where exactly in Ukraine the strike took place pic.twitter.com/J4tVZZtqs4— Yalda Hakim (@BBCYaldaHakim) March 5, 2022
The group Bellingcat said the video appeared genuine and was shot in the Kyiv region. The downed chopper was a Mil Mi-24 Hind gunship, which was a staple of the armed forces of the former Soviet Union, according to the Daily Mail.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense initially tweeted the video Saturday, along with a message that read: “This is how the Russian occupiers are dying. This time in a helicopter!” according to a translation provided by Business Insider.
Other unverified video also purports to show Ukraine fighting back against Russia’s air superiority.
#Ukraine: A Russian two-seater jet was shot down above #Chernihiv today. Pilots successfully ejected, however one of them was already captured. pic.twitter.com/XYpNL65zpg
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 5, 2022
The wreckage of a plane shot down over Chernigov.
#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/YoRmKfizKY— Ali Özkök (@Ozkok_A) March 5, 2022
Despite advances by the Russian forces in the south of Ukraine, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday said the nation will not give up.
“Ukraine will win this war,” Kuleba said after a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the border of Poland and Ukraine, according to The New York Times.
“This is the people’s war for their land,” he said, according to The Guardian.
“The question is the price of our victory. And if our partners continue to take bold, systemic decisions to step up economic and political pressure on Russia, if they continue to provide us with necessary weapons, the price will be lower,” he said, the Times reported.
“This will save many lives in Ukraine, many houses; many children will be born, many sufferings will be avoided. This is the only question that is on the agenda.”
He also noted that people around the world whose nations are imposing sanctions need to be as ready to support Ukraine as are Ukraine’s citizens.
“If anyone in the world one day starts feeling sanctions fatigue, for example, then more people in Ukraine will be dying, suffering,” he said, according to The Guardian.
Kuleba also scolded NATO nations for refusing to take on Russia by imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
“I think it’s a sign of weakness … It’s the people of Ukraine who will pay the price for the reluctance of NATO to act,” he said.
On Saturday, Blinken said the U.S. was not planning to abandon Ukraine.
“We’re in it with Ukraine — one way or another, short run, the medium run, the long run,” he said, the Times reported.
Pressure on Russia “will not only continue, it will grow until this war of choice is brought to an end,” Blinken continued.
“The world is here; the world is with you,” Blinken told Kuleba.
Met with my U.S. counterpart and friend @SecBlinken at the Ukrainian-Polish border. We held talks on further deliveries of necessary weapons for Ukraine, ways to ensure the efficiency of sanctions and increase pressure. Putin must stop his meaningless and barbaric war on Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/cnG6q8Q3Xv
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 5, 2022
Kuleba said Ukraine will continue to pursue peace, even as it fights back.
“But every war ends with diplomacy, and with talks, so we have to continue talking,” Kuleba said.
“Thousands of people in Ukraine sacrifice their lives — men, women, old, young — to defend the country. When we prevail, and I have no doubt that we will, we will build a new Ukraine. And that country will be even better than the one that Russia destroyed.”