Pushing Russian helicopters to relocate after attacks on Berdyansk and Luhansk airfields a ‘significant achievement’ for Ukraine
All three airfields housing Russian military helicopters in the occupied territories of Ukraine are now within range of ATACMS missiles, former Aidar Battalion platoon commander Yevhen Dykyi said in an interview with Radio NV on Oct. 20.
Ukrainian forces successfully targeted two of the three Russian helicopter parking areas with ATACMS missiles, effectively eliminating nine helicopters in a single strike earlier this week.
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“Taking out nine helicopters in a single strike is indeed a significant achievement,” said Dykyi.
“However, the greater significance lies in the fact that they’ll now be compelled to relocate to more distant airfields, as these two could become targets again at any given moment.”
“What’s more, their third airfield, Dzhankoy, also falls within the ATACMS strike range, at a distance of just 165 kilometers,” he added.
Dykyi speculated that the reason for not targeting the Dzhankoy airfield was that the Russians had already removed their equipment from that location.
“Helicopters are formidable machines, particularly devastating when it comes to armored vehicles. Soviet-designed helicopters, including the Mi-24 and all Ka models, were primarily developed as anti-armor assets, functioning as tank killers.”
“In reality, this front-line aviation proved to be the second most significant challenge for our armor in the south, following the threat of minefields,” Dykyi said.
Read also: How Ukraine used its first ATACMS against Russian air power
With a significant number of helicopters still at their disposal, Dykyi anticipates that the Russians will continue to utilize them. However, he said that this would be a more complex endeavor, requiring longer flights and consuming additional time and resources.
“This changes the way they operate. They are not used to fighting this way. They are not accustomed to the concept of guerrilla aviation,” he explained.
“We have been conducting guerrilla aviation for a year-and-a-half now, and our air force is doing a brilliant job with it.”
Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted airstrikes on airfields and equipment in the temporarily occupied cities of Berdyansk and Luhansk on the night of Oct. 17. The specific weaponry used in these attacks was not disclosed at the time.
These strikes were subsequently characterized by propagandists as “one of the most significant attacks” since the onset of the full-scale invasion.
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Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces reported significant losses for the Russians, including nine helicopters, specialized equipment, and an ammunition depot. Additionally, the latest information indicates that dozens of military personnel were killed.
Later on the same day, several U.S. media outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported that Ukraine had deployed ATACMS missiles supplied by the United States for the first time. This information was subsequently confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to the AP news agency, the U.S. had delivered “less than a dozen” ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. However, U.S. newspaper the New York Times, citing two Western officials, stated that the U.S. had dispatched approximately 20 ATACMS missiles with a limited range.
One of the anonymous officials specified that one of the conditions for providing these long-range missiles to Ukraine was the assurance that they would not be used to target Russian territory.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
