UKRAINE DISPATCH
Ukraine gunship squadron flies into battle in Cold War relics
Helicopter crews fly under the noses of President Putin’s most advanced fighter aircraft, in outdated equipment that may kill them before the enemy does
The Times
One by one, the helicopter gunships lifted into the air, hovering at treetop height for a moment before accelerating away, snow falling from their fuselages as they headed east to support Ukrainian troops in the besieged city of Avdiivka.
Their commander watched his pilots with a mix of pride and anxiety, hoping all would make it back alive.
“It is very difficult to say those words … that he died performing a combat mission, that he was faithful to his oath and to the people of Ukraine … but unfortunately we lost him,” says Colonel Dmytro Kulkevych of the 12th Army Aviation Brigade. “The most painful moment is when a wife asks me: ‘Why mine, why mine?’ And I only have one word: war.”
Colonel Kulkevych’s brigade flies Mi-8 “Hips”, fitted with rocket pods, as gunships
MAXIM TUCKER FOR THE TIMES
Kulkevych,
