Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Thursday that Ukrainian forces destroyed 26 Russian helicopters in a single day using a mysterious long-range weapon system provided by Kyiv’s allies.
Speaking at a press conference in Latvia, Zelensky did not disclose details about the weapon, including which country supplied it, how long Ukraine has had it, or when exactly it was used to down the helicopters.
“Partners have provided us with some long-range weapons,” Zelensky said. “I won’t say what, but our partners will understand. With it, we destroyed 26 helicopters in a day, and 12 planes that took off and attacked with missiles, against which these systems were working. We destroyed 12 at once.”
According to Ukraine’s own tally, no Russian helicopters have been destroyed since October 19th, when one was shot down. So it’s unclear if the 26 referenced by Zelensky were recently destroyed but not yet disclosed, or if they were actually destroyed months ago.
Despite the discrepancy, Ukraine did confirm shooting down a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter in early December.
Zelensky stressed the mysterious weapon is part of Ukraine’s air defense systems, not being used to carry out attacks inside Russia. Ukraine has been accused of strikes within Russian territory, which Moscow cites to justify its ongoing bombardment of Ukrainian infrastructure.
Ukraine has made effective use of long-range missile systems provided by Western allies like the U.S.-made HIMARS and British Storm Shadow missiles. Systems like these have allowed Ukraine to strike Russian targets far behind the frontlines.
Russia had an estimated 899 helicopters in its military arsenal at the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow has lost numerous aircraft to Ukrainian air defenses and its own tactical mistakes over the past 10 months of war.
In May, Russian air defenses accidentally shot down several of their own helicopters and jets near the Ukrainian border. Russian officials unconvincingly blamed the incidents on engine failure at the time.
Ukraine continues to call on Western allies to provide more advanced air defense systems that would allow it to better protect civilian areas and infrastructure from Russia’s relentless aerial assault.
Securing Ukraine’s airspace has been a top priority for Kyiv as the war drags on. Advanced missile defense systems like the German IRIS-T and American NASAMS have already proven effective in intercepting and deterring Russian missiles and drones.
But Russia still retains superiority in numbers of aircraft. The destruction of 26 helicopters in one day, if confirmed, would be one of Ukraine’s most successful aerial operations of the war and a major blow to Russia’s aircraft fleet.
The mysterious long-range weapon, which Zelensky did not describe in detail, could give Ukraine capabilities to carry out more strikes on Russian assets far from the frontlines. This would change the dynamic of the war and put more pressure on Russia’s increasingly strained military capabilities.
